To Risk Everything
by neverletgo.xo
Summary: "I'm Troy." I said. She smiled. "Gabriella." Her voice was ringing in the back of my mind. Gabriella. I thought to myself. What happens when two different people volunteer at a shelter. But one has a big secret, will they risk everything to keep it?
1. The Punishment

Chapter One - The Punishment

Gabriella's Point of View

"I think I'm going to go to bed." I said to my mother, placing the bookmark in my book. "You know, get some rest for tomorrow." My mother lifted her head from her studies and smiled to me.

"Good night sweetie." She said, smiling. She looked back to her studies and I rushed up the stairs to my room. I closed the door behind myself and put my book on my dresser, changing into my pajamas. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach, I was nervous about my first day volunteering at the animal shelter. I had almost finished my volunteer hours in New York but when my mom got relocated, again, I had to quit.

I had just moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico and the school year would start in less than three weeks. I was definitely worried about school but I figured that if I laid low and got through the summer, I'd make it out alive.

I went to one of the boxes, I had yet to unpack. I peeled the tape off the top and opened it to find all my books. I grabbed a handful of them and put them on the bookcase my mother had bought for me two years ago. I went back to grab another handful, when I heard a loud shatter from outside. I quickly went to my mothers room and looked out her window.

There was a large group of guys on the street. One of them held a mettle bat, while another threw a beer bottle in the air. The boy swung the bat and there was another loud shattering noise. A car started coming down the street and three other boys jumped out of the truck. The guy with the bat looked over to them and began to slowly make his way closer to them, but kept their distance.

The guys, who had just arrived, started talking to the others. They stood across from each other, the guy who was driving the truck held his arms out, as if trying to make peace. Then they all started looking around themselves. I stared down at them, confused of what they were freaking out about, until I heard sirens in the distance. The guys with the bat began running down the street, the others quickly jumped into the truck and drove the way they came. I watched as a police car slowly drove down the street and finally disappeared.

I closed the curtain, having no need to continue looking at the now empty road. I went back to my room and turned off my light. I stumbled around my room to my bed, and pulled the covers over my head, falling into a deep sleep.

Troy's Point of View

I slowly turned the key in the door and opened it as quietly as I could. I stepped through the door and closed it just as quietly, locking it. I removed my shoes and began climbing up the stairs, trying not to step on the creaky one. Without success, the hall light turned on. My mother stood at the top of the stair case, she looked exhausted.

"Are you just getting in now?" She asked me, rubbing her eyes. I scratched the back of my neck.

"Uh," I started, but then my father came behind my mom.

"Troy?" He said. "What are you doing?" He looked to my mother and then he turned back to me. "It's almost one in the morning, Troy." I scratched my neck again, unsure of what to say.

"I'm sorry, it's just-" I started.

"No excuses young man." My mother said, sternly. "When we said you could buy a car, we didn't mean that you could go driving all night."

"I know, and I'm really sorry." I said, trying to defend myself. "But-"

"There are no buts." My dad began, he held out his hand. "Give me your keys." I stared at my parents in disbelief. Were they really going to take away _my _car? The car that I had saved for for months?

"Dad." I said.

"Troy." He said, his hand waiting for them. I sighed and dug in my pocket. I walked up the last few stairs and put them in his hands. "And, your grounded."

"What?" I said, as if the car wasn't enough? "That's not fai-"

"The rest of the summer." He said. "I don't know what's happened to you. First, you lie to us. Then you skip our basketball game, and now your sneaking out?" He shook his head, disappointed.

"Look," I started. "I'm sorry that I lied to you and I'm even more sorry about sneaking out, but grounded for the rest of the summer?"

"Troy, enough." My mom said. "We'll talk about it in the morning, get to bed." She looked to my dad then went back into the room.

"This isn't like you Troy." he said, following his wife back into the room.

I walked into my room, closing my door. I took off my sweater and fell onto my bed, none of this would have happened if it wasn't for that jerk.

Gabriella's Point of View

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

I slowly opened my eyes and reached to turn off the alarm. I sat up and listened to my mother humming down the hall. I smiled to myself, today was my first day of volunteering at the shelter. I quickly got dressed and ran downstairs to pour myself some cereal. I ate quickly, too excited to eat slowly. My mom came into the kitchen with the newspaper in her hand.

"Slow down, Gabi." She said, putting the kettle on. "Your going to get a stomach ache or something." I smiled.

"I know," I said. "But I'm excited .. and nervous."

"Your going to do fine, Gabs." She said, pouring the hot water into a mug. "Are you almost ready to go?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I just need to grab my bag." She took a spoon and began to stir it. Then she gathered her papers.

"Alright." She said. "We need to get going, you can't be late." I nodded and ran to the stairs. I got my bag off of my desk and met my mother at the bottom of the stairs. "Do you have your house key?" She asked. "I lost mine." I dug in my bag and pulled them out.

"Okay," She said. "Let's go."

My mom wished me luck as I closed the car door. I took a deep breath before I flew open the shelter doors. The first thing I noticed as I walked in was that there was only a desk and closed doors down the only hallway. I walked up to the desk and waited for the women to get off the phone.

"Yes." She said into the speaker. "We always welcome new volunteers and can always use the help." There was a gentle voice on the other end. "Yes, he can start today if he'd like .. okay .. that's great .. thank you very much .. bye." She put the phone down and smiled to me.

"Hello, can I help you?" She asked, smiling.

"Yes, I'm Gabriella Montez." I said, trying to hide how nervous I was. "I'm here to volunteer for the rest of the summer."

"Oh, yes, Gabriella, is it?" I nodded slowly. "Hi, I'm Nicole. You will be working in the office with Robyn, is that alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's fine." Nicole started the raise from her chair.

"If you'd like you can follow me and I'll take you to Robyn." Nicole said, walking down the hallway. She stopped at the fourth door on the left, knocking lightly. There was a muffled sound on the other side and Nicole opened the door.

"Good morning, Mrs. Clarke." Nicole said, opening the door wider. "This is Gabriella, she's the volunteer." I stepped into the office as Nicole stepped out, closing the door. The lady behind the desk stood up. She was fairly tall with long brown hair and light brown eyes. She extended her hand in front of her.

"Hi, I'm Robyn Clarke." I shook her hand.

"Gabriella Montez." I said, shyly.

"Well, Gabriella, I'm glad your here. We have been very busy lately and the paper work is stacking up." Robyn stepped around me and reached for the door. "If you want to follow me." Robyn said, walking back down the hallway towards the front desk. She went to the next door over and opened it. There was a desk to the side and photocopier on the opposite side of the room, with a large window facing outside to a small building and a large yard.

"If you wouldn't mind," Robyn said. "We need these papers to be stacked neatly in these folders." She said, pointing to the papers. "And these ones need to be put into this basket and someone will be picking them up tomorrow." She turned to face me.

"Think you could do it?" She asked me. I nodded quickly.

"Yeah, of course." I said.

"Okay, great." She started towards the door. "Oh, Gabriella, if you need anything Nicole can help you and you can take a break at noon." She smiled then closed the door. I put my bag down beside the desk and started organizing the papers.

Troy's Point of View

I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. My mom was sitting down reading the paper and drinking her morning coffee. I grabbed a bowl from the cupboards and the cereal. I poured my cereal then my milk. I sat across from my mom at the table. I started eating, knowing that she must still be mad. Then she started nodding her head.

"Unbelievable." She said quietly. I swallowed.

"What?" I asked. She looked up and jumped a little.

"Oh, Troy." She said. "I didn't even realize you were there." I smiled to myself.

"What were you reading about?" I asked her. She shook her head again.

"Last night, some kids in the West end of town, smashed the old fire station." She looked up at me. "I hope this doesn't envolve you in any way." I started shaking my head.

"I would never do anything like that, mom." She nodded then took a sip of her coffee, putting down the paper.

"So, speaking of last night .. " She started. "Your father and I found a suitable punishment." I raised my head, waiting to hear it. "Starting today, you will be volunteering at the animal shelter." I dropped my spoon in my cereal.

"Today?" I asked. "But mom, I'm not even dressed or anything."

"Well," She said looking at the clock. "You have less than twenty minutes to get ready."

"How do you expect me to get there?" I questioned. "You took away my truck."

"I can drive you." She sighed. "Troy, look, this was hard for your father and I. The way you have been acting and the sneaking out, it has to stop. So, for the rest of the summer you will volunteer five days a week."

"And let's guess, I'll be grounded on the weekends." I took another bite, angry. It wasn't even my fault and I was the one getting punished?

"Troy," My mom said. "This might be a great thing for you. You'll meet new people and get your community hours finished." I grabbed my bowl and washed it in the sink. "You better go get ready."

Gabriella's Point of View

I had almost finished all of the paper work and it was time for my lunch. I looked out the window and saw a picnic table just outside. I grabbed my bag and started walking out the the door. I walked passed Nicole, who was on the phone, and went outside. It was a sunny day. I could hear the dogs barking. I took out my book from my bag and went around the building and sighed just before I saw the picnic table, but someone was already there. The boy looked up at me. He was reading a thick book and had a sandwich in front of him. I turned to walk away.

"Uh, excuse me?" He said. I turned around and saw him standing. He had short black hair that covered his ears and was wearing a black t-shirt and dark jeans. "The table is big enough for two, if you'd like. I'm reading too, I wont be a distraction, promise." He started moving his things to the side and smiled at me to sit. I thought for a moment then finally decided that it was too nice of a day to be eating inside. I sat down across from him and pulled out my crackers.

"I'm Nick, by the way." He held out his hand.

"Gabriella." I said, taking his hand.

I opened my book and began to read. I read a few paragraphs but then stopped when I saw, from the corner of my eye, Nick staring at me. I slowly glanced to look at him, but he appeared to be reading. I took a cracker and began to chew it. All I heard was a loud crunching noise, something Nick could probably hear too. That's not embarrassing.

Troy's Point of View

"Hi, you must be Troy." A young lady said, behind the front desk of the animal shelter. I nodded to her.

"Yeah." I said, shaking her hand.

"Well, Troy, you will be working with our other volunteer." She said. "She is on her lunch right now, but you can wait in the office, she should be back anytime." She got to her feet and started walking down the hall, I followed her to the third down on the left.

"You can just take a seat." She said, smiling. I smiled back and sat in the chair next to the photocopier.

I looked out the window and saw two people sitting at the picnic table. There was a boy with black hair and a small brunette across from him, they both were reading. The boy got to his feet, just as the girl did, and they began laughing. They went opposite ways. I looked around the room and saw paper that had be organized into piles, I guess I would be organizing one of those piles, for the rest of my summer. Great. The door opened slowly and the lady from the front desk walked in.

"Troy, this is Gabriella." She said, and I watched as the same girl from the picnic table entered the room. "Gabriella, this is Troy." She was obviously beautiful and her chocolate brown eyes made my heart start tumbling. I stepped towards her, not thinking then extended my hand. Her brown eyes lit up and she stumbled back, her lips curved into a smile and she shook my hand.

"I'm Troy." I said. "Bolton." She smiled.

"Gabriella .. Montez." Her voice was ringing in the back of my mind. It was almost natural and her long brown curls bounced and she began to laugh. She looked down, then I realized I was still shaking her hand. I let go quickly and laughed with her.

_Gabriella._ I thought to myself.

**Alright, so this is my first High School Musical fanfic. I was watching the movie and I had this really weird idea for a story and I thought I would try it out. The setting is from a book called Last Chance by Norah McClintock. Doubt that anyone has even heard of it .. but tell me what you think about it, it's something completely different for me so don't judge too hard. **


	2. Start of Something New

Chapter Two - Start of Something New

Gabriella's Point of View

_Troy Bolton. _I thought to myself. His laugh was genuine and he was very handsome. He was tall with light brown hair that just tipped over his ears and sea blue eyes. He wore a pair of faded jeans, a white long sleeve shirt, and an unbutton gray shirt over top. He stuffed his hands in his front pockets and Nicole told me to show him what to do, before leaving the room.

"So, your volunteering for the summer, too?" I asked Troy, trying to make conversation. He seemed uncomfortable about the topic. He took his hand from his pocket and scratched the back of his neck, moving his weight on his right foot.

"More like forced." He shoot me a weak smile. I raised an eyebrow, but he went to the desk. "So, what am I suppose to do?"

I walked up beside him and looked at the papers. I had almost finished organizing the folders and was half way finished sorting the papers for tomorrows pick-up. I looked over at him.

"Well," I said, grabbing the papers and folders and handing them to him. "You can put these papers into these folders."

He nodded, then pulled up the chair from the photocopier and sat across from my chair at the desk. I watched him blankly, organizing them, without saying a word. I walked around the desk, putting my bag beside my chair, and started placing papers into the small basket. Troy's eyes slowly rolled over to me three times, within the five minutes we were there.

"How long have you been volunteering here?" He asked me. I looked up from my work and stared at him curiously.

"I just started today, actually." I returned to my work, not wanting to slack off, there were a lot of papers that needed to be ready for tomorrow. An awkward silence fell upon us.

"That's cool." Troy said, nodding to himself. I nodded slowly, trying to ignore him. I caught him, from the corner of my eye, staring at me. I looked up a little, just in time, to see him blush and look back to his work. I saw him trying to hide a smile, I smiled at him.

"What?" I asked, curious. He looked up, his dimples flashing.

"You seem like your really concentrating." He commented. My smile vanished from my face, I could feel my eyebrows pulling together. Troy's smile faded. "No. It's not a bad thing, it's just that .. " He trailed off.

"It's just that what?" I asked him. He looked back up to me.

"Well," He started. "You're only volunteering here. Most people, who volunteer, don't work as hard as you seem to be." He shrugged his shoulders. I stared at him.

"I'm not like most people." I continued to my work, trying not to get distracted.

Troy's Point of View

She didn't seem like most people, either. I watched as she continued sorting papers. She didn't look back up at all. I started putting the different papers into their proper folders. I glanced back up to Gabriella. Something about this girl was .. different, but in a good way. She must have just moved here, I'd never seen here at East High before. Maybe she went to West High? Ugh, that's just scary, but she didn't seem to act like the of kids from across town. Maybe she moved into the Donaldson's house a few blocks away? Or maybe she's that girl who got pregnant in ninth grade? No, she moved to Ohio.

I looked up at her, again. She was staring at two pieces of papers, almost unsure which was suppose to go into the basket. She let out a low sigh and put them off to the side. She continued looking through the papers and organized them into the basket. I tore my gaze from the beautiful brunette and tried to concentrate on the papers and folders in front of me.

It had only an hour since my mother dropped me off. Gabriella had finished sorting the papers into the basket and was now helping me with the folders. Our hands would touch sometimes, when we both reached in to grab a folder. She would blush and pull away, letting me take the folder on top. Her touch was warm and her skin was very soft. The blush got redder and redder beneath her dark skin each time our hands met.

When she finished four I finished two. I tried to quicken my pace and try to look like I'd done this before, but the paper would fall out of the folder and I would have to pick them up and stuff them back in, neatly. I wasn't very good when it came to office work. Gabriella would try to hide a smile whenever the papers fell to the ground, but when I picked them up she recovered herself and finished packing the folder with the right paper.

There was only one more folder left, Gabriella and I were both finishing a folder. I quickly put the folder to the side at the same time she did. She absentmindedly reached for the folder, I copied her movement and let our fingers touch. She blinked quickly and looked up at me. A smile tugged at her lips then she blushed a darker red and reach away. I smiled to her and pulled the folder in front of me. I stacked the last few papers and set them into of the folder, putting it to the side with the others.

Gabriella got to her feet and grabbed the folders she had stacked in her arms. Her stack, which was much bigger than mine, hardly fit in her arms. I got to my feet and reached over the desk.

"Here." I said, taking half of the folders from her arms. "I'll take these." She smile politely at me then started walking to the door. I took the folders I had done in my other hand and followed her.

"So," I said, trying not to drop them. "Where are we taking these?" I asked. Gabriella didn't turn around, she kept walking.

"Nicole told me they go in the mail room," She looked at the doors, until she found one that said mail room. She opened the door and let me walk in, closing it behind her. "Alright, so we have to put the right folders into the right mail box."

"And how do we know which one goes in which mail box?" I asked her. She picked up a folder and started looking at it, her eyebrows pulling together. She walked towards the different mail boxes and then looked back to the folder. She turned back to me and went beside her folders, looking at the top of them.

"Oh." She said, smiling to herself. "You see the name at the top of the folder?" She asked. I picked up one from my pile and looked at it.

"Charles?" I said. I looked back to her. "So, we just match them to the mail box?" I asked her. She smiled and nodded to me.

She took half her pile in her hand then walked up to the boxes, looking for the names. I copied her, grabbing half the folders and looking for 'Charles'. When I found it I placed it inside and looked for the next one. I had finished my half and looked over to Gabriella. She silently put them into each box, her eyebrows pulling together when she couldn't find it. She tried looking at the top shelf and finally found it. She reached on her tip toes to put it inside the box, but she wasn't tall enough. She tried giving a little jump, but she still couldn't reach. I smiled to myself.

"Need help?" I asked, coming behind her. She shook her head.

"No," She said, struggling. "I got it." I took the folder from her small hands and slid it into the box with ease. She turned to me and gave and small smile, she obviously wished she could have done it herself. "Thanks."

She walked passed me and took another folder from her pile. I finished with mine easily, and started helping Gabriella's with hers. She asked me a few times to get the top shelves. I smiled as I slid behind her to take the folder and place it in it's box.

When we finally finished Gabriella sat down on a small table in the mail room, looking at each of the boxes. I sat beside her and glanced at her from the corner of my eye. A satisfied smile crossed her lips and she turned to look at me.

"So, does your mom work here?" She asked. I was taken back a little, surprised at her question. She realized. "I saw a mail box, Lucille Bolton." Gabriella said quickly, pointing the the mail boxes. I looked over to them and nodded.

"Oh." I said. "Yeah, she volunteered here and then she sorta started working here, in her spare time." She nodded slowly.

"Was she the one who _forced _you to volunteer here?" She asked, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. I shifted a little.

"Yeah," I said. "Something like that." I whispered under my breath.

Gabriella's Point of View

_Something like that._ I'd heard Troy say under his breath. The smile vanished from my lips. He never seemed comfortable talking about why he was at the shelter. I stared at him, hoping he would turn to me and tell me what that was suppose to mean. He stared at the boxes then finally stood up and scratched the back of his neck.

"So," He said, still not looking at me. "What do we do now?" I jumped off the table and got to my feet.

"I guess we go to Nicole." I shrugged my shoulders and Troy went to pull open the door. He held it open for me to go through then I walked down the hallway to the front desk. Nicole stopped what she was doing and looked up at myself and Troy.

"Well, look at you two." She said, smiling. "Did you guys finish already?" She asked, astonished. I looked over to Troy, who smiled down to me.

"Yeah." I said, looking back to Nicole. She sat back in her chair and stared back and forth from Troy and I.

"Wow," She said. "Some of our workers here wouldn't have even finished that paper work until tomorrow, never mind in less than two hours."

Nicole let us take a break and look around the shelter, until Robyn returned from her meeting. Troy knew most of his way around the shelter and showed me where all the animals were kept, the food for the animals, the training ground for the animals, and he showed me a quiet garden that was just at the side of the shelter. It looked out onto a small pond that was hand made.

Troy said he wasn't sure who made it, but one week it was weeds and bushes the next it was a beautiful sitting area. There was a bench that was one foot away from the pond and there were different flowers in every direction you turned. The pond had one fish in it. It wasn't much larger than a gold fish, it could have passed for one, but it's colors were much more genuine.

"Do you like it?" Troy asked me. I turned to look at him. He was standing next to the bench, his hands in his pockets.

"It's amazing." I said, kneeling down beside the pond. I watched the little fish swim around the edges. I watched as he continued to swim by himself. Troy knelt down beside me.

"Do you want to feed him?" He asked. I looked at him, biting my bottom lip and nodding at him. He got something from his back pocket. He held it out for me and poured a little food in my hand. I smiled at him then looked back to the small pond, holding my hand above it an letting the food slip from my fingers. The little fish came to the surface and took small amounts of the food.

I got to my feet and went to sit on the bench, Troy came to sit beside me. I watched as the food slowly disappeared. I turned over to Troy and caught him staring at me. He stared into my eyes, trying to read them.

"What?" I asked him, when his head slowly shook.

"You seem sad." He said. I looked back to the pond. "How can you be sad in a place like this?" He asked, his hands looking over the nature. I shook my head slowly then I looked back to Troy, who was waiting.

"Well," I started, blushing a little. "The fish seems almost sad." I said. Troy's dimples started forming. "What?" I asked him.

"Your sad, because a fish is sad?" He asked, chuckling to himself. I nodded slowly.

"He needs company." I said. "A friend." Troy's smile slowly faded as we sat in silence. I looked over to him, slowly. "Who feeds it everyday?" I asked. He turned his head to me, his blue eyes burning into mine.

"I do, of course." I raised my eyebrow. He started laughing. "No, I did though, when I use to come with my mom after school. She feeds it on her break and when she doesn't come in I'll come and do it." I looked back to the fish.

"What's it's name?" I asked. Troy turned to the fish.

"I couldn't tell you." He said, smiling a little. "Whoever brought him here never left him with a name tag. When I first found him, I called him Charlie." I stared at him. Troy looked over to me. "What?"

"How do you know it's a boy?" I asked. Troy looked back to the fish, chuckling to himself.

"I just do." He said, smiling back to me. I laughed.

Troy's Point of View

She did it, again. Laughed her heartbreaking laugh. I smiled while she recovered herself. We sat in silence, listening to the sound of birds chirping and dogs barking in the distance. Gabriella got to her feet and looked at me.

"We'd better head back." She said. "Robyn might be here." I nodded and got to my feet.

We came from the clearing of the trees into the large field. The building holding the animals was just across from us and the main building was just beside us. I put my hands in my pockets and listened to Gabriella's heavy breathing. She seemed so innocent and sweet and caring. Her hands swung silently at her side. I clenched my fists pushing them deeper into my pockets. No matter how badly I wanted to hold her soft hands, we barely knew each other and it would probably make things weird.

I'd only known this girl for two hours and a half, tops. I didn't even know which school she would be attending in the fall, I didn't know her favorite color or food, I didn't even know why she had volunteered here. But I had a pretty good guess. She either liked animals or she wanted the community hours.

When we reached the main building I pulled open the door for her. She smiled and gracefully walked in. Gabriella walked over to the main desk and greeted Nicole. I walked up behind her and smiled to Nicole.

"I'm sorry I made you guys wait," Nicole said, looking between Gabriella and I. "Robyn's meeting is going to take longer than she thought. So, you guys can head home if you'd like, there isn't any work that needs to be done until she returns." We nodded.

"Okay." Gabriella said.

"I'll see you two tomorrow." She smiled. Gabriella pushed away from the desk, smiling back to her.

"Have a nice night." She said, looking back to me. "I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled then went back down the hall. I smiled as I watched her disappear. I went to sit in one of the chairs that sat in front of the window. Gabriella came back down the hall, a bag slung over her shoulder. She smiled to Nicole waving good-bye to her. When she saw me, her smile grew larger and she looked down as she walked out the door.

I turned to see her standing near the curb, waiting for her ride home, I figured. I turned back to sit down and saw Nicole staring at me, a strange look crossing her face.

"What?" I asked her, curious of what she staring at me for. She shook her head slowly.

"I've known you since you were .. what?" She said. "Fourteen?" I shrugged my shoulders, tempted to look back at Gabriella.

"So?" I asked.

"Not once have I seen you _this_ interested in a girl you just met." She said. I shook my head.

"I'm not interested in anyone." I lied. Nicole shrugged her shoulder and got up from the desk. She walked down the hall. I turned back to see if Gabriella was still there, but she was already gone. I sighed then got to my feet. Nicole came back.

"Where are you going?" She asked me. I looked at her. She was only, what, twenty one? Why did she care?

"Why?" I asked her.

"Your mother said to keep you here until she or your father picked you up." Nicole sat down. "Now sit, please." I rolled my eyes and sat down. She would make a good teacher in the future.

Gabriella's Point of View

"So, what time are you going in tomorrow?" My mom asked.

"Same time." I said. My mom went silent, never a good sign. I looked over to her. "What, mom?" She turned to look at me for a second, then back to the road.

"I know I promised that I'd drive you to the shelter," She started, focusing on the road. "But my work asked me to come in earlier, I guess someone is sick or something. Would you mind walking?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah, of course." I said. "I don't mind." The only thing is how to get there.

"Thanks Gab's." She said. "I got the directions, they are pretty straight forward." We turned into the driveway and my mom cut the engine.

We walked up the steps and my mom unlocked the door. She went straight to her studies and took out the books from her suitcase. Then she walked into the kitchen and started opening cupboards.

"Gab?" She called after me. I set my bag down on the stairs and walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah." I said, standing in the archway.

"What do you want for dinner?" She asked, leaning against the counter.

"It doesn't matter, whatever you want." I said. She nodded to herself then got a pan from under the cupboard.

I turned and left. I grabbed my bag from the stairs and went to my room, closing my door. I went to start unpacking the box I had started unpacking the other night. I took the handful of books and put them on the second shelf. I went back to the box and took the last books, putting them next to my other ones.

I tore the box apart and set it aside, opening another one I had sitting in the corner of my room. I peeled the tape off and opened it. It was all my awards and medals from the competitions my old schools had entered me in. I looked at them then put them on the top shelf.

I finished unpacking my awards and I broke the boxes. I took the boxes and started downstairs. I put them beside the front door then walked into the kitchen, to see if my mother needed help preparing dinner. I walked in to find her turning off the stove and putting the food on a plate.

"French toast?" I asked her, amused by her breakfast for dinner. She turned to face me.

"Well," She said. "I have a lot of work that needs to be finished for tomorrow and I just wanted to make something quick to eat."

"It's fine, mom." I said, grabbing two other plates from the cupboard. My mom put the french toast on the table and got out the forks and knives while I got the syrup. We sat down together and had a quiet breakfast dinner.

Troy's Point of View

"So," My mom said, while bringing the potatoes to the table. "How was volunteering?"

"It was alright." I said, pouring gravy on my turkey.

"Nicole said that there was another volunteer you were working with." She said, while taking a drink of her water.

"Yeah." I said, taking the last bite of my corn. I stared at my food, feeling my moms eyes on me.

"Well?" She asked. "What's their name?" I looked up from my food.

"Gabriella." I said. "Where's Dad?" I asked, changing the topic before she could ask me more questions about Gabriella.

"He had some things he needed to take care of at the shop." She said, eating her turkey.

My dad was the coach of my school's basketball team, during the year. Over the summer and the winter he worked at the mechanical shop downtown. He would normally only go stay there for a few hours, but lately he had been staying later and working more shifts. The way my mother acted sometimes made me think that it was because of the way I had acted this summer, but it wasn't entirely my fault. Especially not the sneaking out part.

I tried finishing my dinner fast, so I could just go to bed and have tomorrow come fast. I was thinking how I couldn't wait for summer to come, I could just hang out with my friends. Now here I was and I couldn't wait for school. I wouldn't be grounded and I wouldn't have to deal with _his_ crap until basketball season started again.

I took the last bite of my dinner and helped my mom clean up. We didn't say a word the whole time. The silence started eating at me. I kissed my mothers cheek and ran up to my room, closing my door and turning on my stereo. I laid on my bed and just listened to the music. I stared at the ceiling, looking at the weird shapes and objects I could find.

My eyelids started drooping. Finally I rolled on my side and listened to the music, hoping it would just make me sleep, and soon enough, I was out.

**Alright, so here is the second chapter. I want to thank everyone who had reviewed my story, it means a lot to me. This chapter is a little boring, but it's all about Troy and Gabriella together for their first day. Hopefully you like it. I will try and have the next update tomorrow night maybe Saturday morning? I'll try for tomorrow night though. Thanks again and hope you like it ! :)**


	3. Building a Friendship

Chapter Three - Building a Friendship

Gabriella's Point of View

Beep! Beep! Beep!

My eyes shot open. I looked at my alarm clock and hit the snooze button, just five more minutes and I could be up and ready. I closed my eyes, feeling the sleep come back over me. I could hear my breathing getting slower.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

I shot my eyes open, again. The clock said that I had sleep for five extra minutes. I hit the snooze button, still feeling the sleep. My mother rushed through my door, making me shoot up in a sitting position.

"Sorry Gab's." She said, going towards my mirror. "Can I borrow this?" She asked, holding up a bobby pin. I nodded slowly.

"Yeah, go ahead." She nodded and started pulling her hair back and placed the bobby pin in it. Then she turned back to me.

"You better get ready," She said. "You have to get going soon." I nodded and watched her leave.

I pulled the comforter off my legs and stretched out my arms and legs. I hadn't slept well last night. I kept hearing that same shattering noise outside. It hadn't stopped until almost three in the morning. Finally I jumped up from my bed and walked over to my dresser. I was still tired and I wasn't going to be able to make it through the day feeling like this. I grabbed my clothes from my dresser and went into the bathroom. I adjusted the water then closed the curtain.

After I got all the conditioner out, I grabbed a towel and changed into my clothes. I went back to my room, to put my pajamas on my bed, then saw the time. I had less then ten minutes to get to the shelter, and I had to walk. I grabbed my bag and ran down the stairs and saw a note on the table, from my mom. She had the directions laid out and said to call her once I got there and home. I took a water from the fridge and a fiber bar from the cupboard.

I took the directions and got my shoes on, running out the door. I dug in my bag for my key. Once I had locked the door I started down the street. I was only a couple blocks away, and I could maybe make it on time. I remembered most of the turns, from when my mother had drove me. I turned the final corner and saw the last set of lights right ahead. It was just about to turn green and let me walk. I started running, not wanting to be more late then I had to be. The small hand started flashing, telling me to proceed with caution. I looked both ways and saw a car beside me. I took a breath then ran through to light.

The other light had turned green and a car started honking at me. I mouthed that I was sorry and started running. The car next to the curb had their signal light on. I mouthed sorry to them too and ran as fast as I could. The car with the signal light came up from behind me and turned into the shelters parking lot. I didn't pay much attention to it, running through the shelters doors and greeting Nicole.

"Sorry I'm late." I said, out of breath. Nicole looked over me.

"It's fine, your here just on time." She smiled then got to her feet. "Oh, there's Troy." I turned and saw Troy getting out of the car that was sitting at the light. He walked into the building with another women, who I assumed was his mother.

"Good morning Nicole." The women greeted. Nicole smiled to her.

"Good morning Lucille." She said. Troy came up from behind his mother.

"Sorry we're a little late." Lucille said, turning to Troy. "Some of us had troubles getting out of bed this morning." Nicole smiled at me.

"He wasn't the only one." I felt my cheeks getting hot. Lucille stood in front of me, extending her hand.

"I don't think we have met." She said. "I'm Lucille, Troy's mother." I shook her hand.

"I'm Gabriella." I smiled, shaking her hand. Lucille looked back to Troy, he just shrugged. She turned back to me.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Gabriella." Lucille let go of my hand and walked over to Nicole. "Are they working with Robyn?" She asked. Nicole nodded. "Well we are getting a large order coming in. The food didn't come in last night, so we have that plus next weeks."

"That's fine," Nicole said, looking towards Troy and myself. "We can put these two to work." Lucille smiled. Turning back to her son.

"Well, I'll probably be back in later." Troy nodded. "Alright, have a good day." She kissed Troy's cheek then turned back to smile at me and left.

"Okay guys, let's get going." Nicole said, walking down the hall. Troy came up from behind me.

"Hey." He said, smiling down to me. I smiled at him.

"Hi." We followed Nicole back to the office we were working in the other day.

"You can put her bag in here, Gabriella." She said. I took my bag from my shoulder and set it next to the door. Nicole continued walking down the hallway. There was a back door that she opened, leading into a large kitchen space.

"Alright, all the food over here." Nicole said, pointing to the large racks of food. "Needs to be put into these." She pointed to all of the dog bowls. Troy and I nodded. "But, be sure that the cat food doesn't get mixed up with them." She said, holding up a bag of Wiskas. "Okay?" We nodded, closing the large door.

Troy's Point of View

Gabriella walked right over to the racks of food, she pulled out a large bag of dog food then reached for the bowls. The bag was almost bigger than her. I walked over to help her out. I stood in front of her, taking the bag from her skinny arms. She smiled at me.

"Thanks." She said, her voice stinging my ears. I smiled at her.

"No problem." I said. She started separating the bowls and putting them into a line on the counter top. I opened the bag and poured food into each of them. Gabriella leaned against the counter, watching me pour the food into the bowls. She put her hands to her mouth, covering her yawn.

"Do you want me to do a couple?" She said, still yawning. I looked up to her.

"No, it's fine." I said. "You did most of the work yesterday, plus you seem a little tired." I winked to her, seeing a small smile tug at the corner of her mouth, but it got ruined when she yawned again. I tried to hide a smile.

"Thanks." She said, throwing her head back. "There's been this loud shattering noises outside my house, some idiots smashing beer bottles."

I froze where I was. _That's_ the street she lives on? In front of _that_ house? Why was he still out there? I thought he finally got the point, he wasn't wanted here. Chad and I talked to him last night, he was suppose to leave and not show his face here. He must have gone back when we left. But, wait, what if Gabriella saw me? What if she saw me and Chad getting out of his car and going to talk to them? No, it was too dark out, she couldn't have seen our faces, could she?

"Troy!" Gabriella said, her hands touching mine, pulling the food from me hands. I blinked twice, then realized I had poured enough food into one bowl for three dogs.

"Oh, crap!" I said, letting Gabriella take it from me. She was looking into my eyes. I turned away and looked for a broom. I saw one in the corner and ran over to get. I started sweeping the bits that fell onto the ground. Gabriella put the food on the counter and went to get the garbage can. She put it next to me and started emptying some of the food into the other bowls.

I got the dust pan and started sweeping the food onto it. Gabriella's hands replaced mine and she held it for me. I didn't look at her, not wanting her to see the discomfort in my eyes. She dumped the food into the can and put it back to the side, while I put the broom back in the corner.

"Troy?" She asked. I turned to face her.

"Sorry." I said, trying to smile. "I got lost in thought." Gabriella shrugged then went to pick up the bag of food. I went to grab the bag from her, but she nudged it away.

"I got it." She said, not looking at me.

I relaxed against the counter and watched Gabriella struggle. I wanted to take the bag from her and let her relax. She looked so tired today, like she was about to fall down dead. She yawned twice, but never looked up at me. She obviously liked doing things on her own, probably to show she was independent.

Her eyebrows came together as she tried to pour food into the last bowl. She used both of her hands then, finally, she set the bag on the counter and grabbed the bowl in her hands. Her eyebrows were still pulled together, but she put the bowl into the food and scooped the food into the bowl. She set the bowl next to the others and smiled. She turned to me.

"All done." She said, closing the top of the food bag and setting it back on the rack. She went to stand beside, but stopped. I looked to my feet and stuffed my hands in my pockets, feeling her discomfort.

Gabriella's Point of View

Troy was hiding something. I knew it wasn't any of my business, but I couldn't help but wonder. Whenever I asked him about why he was here or anything that related to getting to know him a little better, just made it more awkward between us. Although I'd only known him for a day and twenty minutes, I wanted to know more about him and I wanted him to know more about me.

I looked up at him. I itched to go stand beside him, but what if he moved away from me? What if he shuddered and left the room? I would be the stupid one standing by myself and waiting for someone to come find me. I didn't want to take that chance.

"So," I said, trying to make conversation. Troy finally looked up at me, a smile forming on his lips.

"So." He said. I took a small breath and went to stand beside him. I tried to hide a smile, when he didn't walk away, but failed. Our arms were just touching, it felt like a huge electric shock running through my body. My cheeks started to burn.

"What do you like to do in your spare time?" I asked, trying to get to know him better.

"Uh," He started, taking his hands out of his pocket. He turned to look at me, a huge smile forming on his face. "I like to play basketball, baseball, and, in the shower, sing." He smiled to me, making my heart flutter. "What about you?" His entire body turned to face me, interested in what I had to say.

"Well," I started, smiling up at him. "We have something in common Troy Bolton." Troy's face went confused.

"And what would that be Ms. Montez." He said, crossing his arms.

"Well," I began. "Aside from my clumsiness, I love basketball." I crossed my arms and watched his confusion change to amusement.

"Really?" He asked, astonished. I looked at him, almost shocked.

"What?" I said. "A girl can't like playing basketball?" Troy uncross his arms, his eyes popping out.

"No, no, no, no." He said, tripping over his own words. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Sure you didn't." I said, having a little fun with it.

"No, I swear I didn't."

"Oh," I said, trying to hide my laughter and sound serious. "Troy Bolton not only is sexist, but he swears too?" I shook my head in disappointment. I started to walk away, but Troy jumped in front of me.

"I didn't mean anything like that." He said, serious. He looked straight into my eyes, his hands wrapping around my forearms, making my heart want to start flying. Finally I couldn't help but laugh. Troy stood where he was, his face growing in confusion. I couldn't see after a little while, my stomach hurt so much that I hand to grip the counter. Troy let go of my arms, waiting for me to stop. I had to sit down on the ground, every part of my was flying, and I couldn't help it.

Troy sat next to me, laughing a little himself. Then I hiccuped, hitting my head against the counter behind me. I stopped laughing, feeling my head starting to sting. I looked over to Troy. His hand was clapped over his mouth. Tears running down his face. I looked at him, was he hurt of something?

"Are you okay?" I asked him. He stared back at me, then finally, he took his hand from his mouth. His laughter filled the air. Tears were flying from his eyes. His face looked like it was on fire. His throat made a gulping noise, with his laughter, only making the tears fall harder and his laughter grow louder. I couldn't help but start laughing with him.

Nicole came through the kitchen doors. She looked over us, I tried to stop laughing but hearing Troy's laughter only made mine worse. She smiled at us. After a couple of seconds her face went serious.

"Alright guys." She said, waiting for us. Troy's laughing slowed, followed by mine. Troy got to his feet, helping me to mine. "Robyn isn't going to be back in until the end of the week, family matters, so you two are going to have to feed the dogs." Troy nodded. I could feel my face going straight. Did she say feed the _dogs_?

Troy's Point of View

I felt Gabriella go silent at my side. Nicole looked at me.

"You remember what to do?" She asked. I nodded. "Okay, here's the key and make sure they get enough." She tossed me the key.

"Sure." She looked back to Gabriella then to me, leaving the kitchen. I turned to Gabriella. "Are you alright?" I asked her, alarmed by how white her dark skin had turned. She didn't reply. I put my hands on her shoulders. They were tense. I shook her as softly as I could. "Brie?"

Her eyes snapped at me. Her mouth forming a small 'o'. I took half a step closer to her.

"Gabriell-"

"What did you just call me?" She asked, cutting me off. I thought back and couldn't remember what she was talking about.

"Are you alright?" I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Nicole was telling us about feeding the dogs .. " I trailed off, was she afraid of dogs? Gabriella turned away, a small smile on her lips. She started grabbing the bowls in each hand, trying to balance them on her arms. I quickly took them from her, before she dropped them. She looked at me strangely.

"Troy, what are you doing, we're suppose to take .. " She trailed off as I walked into one of the supply closets.

"Well." I called to her, from the closet. "We can take fourteen trips from the kitchen to the feeding grounds, or .. " I said, wheeling out a stainless steel tray. "We can put them all on this, and push it there .. in one trip."

Gabriella's lips started nudging at the corners, pulling into a bright smile with her sparkling teeth, glittering in the light. She crossed her arms and just started at me.

"What?" I said, smiling at her. She shook her head slowly.

"Nothing." She said, grabbing two bowls and placing them on the tray.

...

I unlocked the door, to the feeding room, and pushed the tray through the doors. Gabriella stayed close to my side. She seemed uncomfortable. I looked down at her, her tanned face was almost as white as a Canadian girls'. Her eyes never left the twenty-eight dogs that were barking in front of her. I couldn't help but smile at the small fragile girl that was practically clinging to me. She was practically behind me, staying as far away from the cages as she could. I grabbed two bowls and went towards the cage. Gabriella's hand gripped my arm, pulling me back.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her eyes filled with horror. I chuckled, amused.

"I'm doing my job." I said, walking towards the cages. I was tugged back, again.

"Shouldn't we get someone more .. " She looked to the dogs, her eyes ready to jump out of their sockets. "Trained?" She said, looking back to me. I smiled.

"Are you afraid?" I asked. She let go of my arm. I could feel the cool air hitting my skin where she touched. She looked at me, crossing her arms, an angry look crossing her face.

"I am not afraid." She said. She looked back to the dogs then walked out of the building.

"Brie!" I called after her. She didn't turn around. I looked to the dogs then quickly grabbed their bowls. I put one in cage then left the building, locking it behind me.

I ran into the main building, looking for Brie. I ran into the office where she had dropped her bag. Her bag was still where she left it, but she wasn't there. I ran into the kitchen, hoping she was there preparing the food for the cats and birds, but she wasn't. I went over to Nicole.

"Hey," I said, running out of breath. "Have you seen Gabriella?" She shook her head.

"I haven't seen her since you two were in the kitchen." She said. I ran back down the hallway and out the back door. I went into the holding kennel and the birds and cats feeding center. There was no sign of her. Why was I so edgy? She was probably in the washroom or something. Why would I even say that she was afraid, even though I knew I was right. I thought back to the other places she might have gone, but the shelter isn't very large. Many animals had to be put down each year because there wasn't enough space and not enough adoptions.

I thought as hard as I could. I began thinking of where she could have gone in a place she had only just realized existed in less than two days. I tried remembering all the places I had showed her when I gave her the mini tour the other day, but nothing came to mind. Where was a place that seemed to interest her? She wouldn't have gone near the dogs, maybe the cats?

"Ugh," I said to myself. "So stupid." I started running across the field, heading towards the small clearing. I pushed the leaves from my face and jumped over the tree roots until I saw her soft curls. I stopped and saw another girl kneeling next to the small pond. Who the hell was that? I caught my breath then started walking closer. Gabriella began laughing.

I slowly went behind her, as quietly as I could, realizing who was kneeling.

"It worries me sometimes." My mother said. Gabriella got off the bench and went over to kneel next to her.

"My mom always worried about that too." She said, swirling her finger in the water.

What were they talking about? Were they talking about me? I slowly backed away, wanting to hear more of what they were saying. I reached the trees and ducked underneath one of the leaves. My mom took a pinch of fish food and dropped it in the water. My mom sighed then looked over to Gabriella.

"Thanks for listening to me ramble about my life and family." She said. Gabriella smiled to her.

"It was no problem." Gabriella said. "Anytime you need to talk, I'm always here."

"I might just take you up on that offer one day." My mom looked back to the small pond. "Well I'd better get going." She got to her feet. Looking down at Gabriella. "Are you going to stay here for a little longer?" She asked. Gabriella stared at the water then looked to my mother.

"Yeah." She said. "It's my lunch in a few minutes anyways." My mother nodded then smiled to her.

She started for the trees, while Gabriella sat where she was, staring off into space. I watched my mother, through the trees, as she made her way back to the main building. I looked back to Gabriella and stepped away from the trees. I walked up from behind her.

"Hey." I said, watching Gabriella jump and turn to face me.

"Oh. Hi." She said, her hand flying to her throat. "I didn't hear you." I stood where I was, putting my hands in my front pockets.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." I said. Gabriella smiled, patting the grass next to her. I shook my head. "Actually, I thought we could maybe go out for lunch." I scratched the back of my neck, praying for her to say yes. She thought about it for a moment, then got to her feet.

"Sure." She said, taking one last glance at the fish. We walked through the trees, I could hear her breathing grower louder and louder. I looked down as we made our way across the field.

"I'm sorry." I blurted out. Gabriella turned and looked at me with confusion. "The way I was acting in the kennel .. " I trailed off, scratching the back of my neck. Gabriella stopped. I turned to her. Her face was serious and she stared at me.

"_You_ have nothing to be sorry for." She said. Little did she know, I had a lot to be sorry for. It was my fault that she had lack of sleep. It was my fault my dad was never home. It was partly my fault that there was smashed glass all over the road.

"It my fault that I got upset." She interrupted. "Let's just forget about it. What I did was stupid, I left you to feed twenty-eight dogs. I'll make it up to, okay?" She smiled then started walking again. I ran a little to catch up with her.

"So, where are we going to sit for lunch?" She asked, raising an eyebrow to me. "I was thinking the picnic table over there." She pointed. I shook my head.

"No, I asked you to go _out_ for lunch, not sit in this place and eat." I smiled down to her.

...

**Alright, so sorry for the late update. I was meaning to have this up already, but things changed. Also, thank you for the awesome reviews, it means so much to me! I will attempt to have the next chapter up by tomorrow, for sure, possibly tonight .. but most likely not. Thanks once again and keep up the amazing reviews.**


	4. Questions and Plans

Chapter Four - Questions and Plans

Gabriella's Point of View

I sat in the booth beside the window, watching Troy order our lunch. I had offered to pay for mine, but not only did I forget my wallet, Troy wouldn't let me. It was a small restaurant, only a block away from the shelter. There were only two other people dinning, both looked over the age of sixty. I looked back over to Troy. He had a tray in his hands and he was walking towards me with his dimples flaring.

"Okay," He said, putting the tray of food on the table. "I got milkshakes, chocolate of course, and two orders of chicken strips." He handed me my food and drink. We ate silently, both of our stomachs growling.

"Thank you." I said, taking a drink of my milkshake. Troy smiled, swallowing his last french fry.

"Your welcome." He said, picking up a chicken strip. "Let's play a game." He said. I stared at him, curious.

"While were eating?" I asked, he nodded simply.

"Yeah." He said. "It's called .. Questions." I raised an eyebrow, although it sounded gay, it would help Troy know more about me and me know more about him.

"Okay." I said, sipping on my drink.

"It's easy, I ask a question, you answer it. Then you ask a question and I answer it." Troy's eyes focused on mine. My cheeks got hot and I looked to the table.

"Alright," I said, looking back at him. "You first." Troy rubbed his chin, eying me.

"Favorite color?" He asked.

"Blue." I said, quickly. Troy smiled, taking a drink.

"What's your favorite .. food?" I asked. Troy thought for a moment, then looked to me.

"Ice cream."

"What's your favorite book?" I sat back in the chair, trying to think of an honest answer.

"I have two." I said. "A Walk to Remember and Charlie St. Cloud." Troy smiled. "What is the last movie you have seen?"

"Promise you wont laugh?" He asked, I nodded slowly. "Mean Girls." I tried holding my breath to keep from laughing, but I wasn't able to. "Hey!" Troy laughed. "You promised you wouldn't laugh and my mom made me watch it with her." I nodded slowly then caught my breath.

"I'm sorry," I said. "But, that movie is the biggest chick flick out there." I chuckled a little, Troy sat where he was, a slight smile forming.

"Alright, back to the game." He said, finishing his last chicken strip. "What school will you be attending in the fall?" He raised an eyebrow.

"East High." I said. My mom told me it was one of the most athletic schools in the city. Troy smiled. "What school will you be attending in the fall?" I asked. I crossed my fingers under the table. _Please say East High. Please say East High. _I repeated in my head.

"East High." Woohoo! "Do you have any siblings?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Nope. I'm an only child." Troy nodded slowly.

"What was the best time in your life?" I asked, glancing up at him. His eyes went off into space, a small smile showing at the corners of his mouth.

"Uh," He said. "It was a couple years ago. My mom, dad, and I went to San Diego for a basketball tournament." He looked down to the table, smiling to himself. I smiled with him.

"I take it you won the tournament? You scoring the game winning point?" Troy looked back up at me, his smile faded.

"No, well yeah, but that's not why it was the best." He said, still staring off. "It was just my mom, dad, and me. We went to the beach when I didn't have to play, we went to the different attractions, and it was just _us_. My parents and I having a little vacation together, before my dad went basketball crazy." He looked back up at me, staring into my eyes.

"While were getting more personal .. " Troy said, trying to loosen the moment. "Why did you move?" I shrugged.

"My mom's job." I said, eating the last of my food. "She gets relocated .. a lot, and this was her next destination."

"Oh." Troy said, looking at the tray.

"Yeah." I said, feeling the awkwardness closing in. "So, have you ever been .. grounded?" I asked. Troy nodded.

"Oh yeah." He said laughing, as if to an inside joke that I didn't get.

Troy's Point of View

If only she knew that I was grounded right now. Wonder what she would think of that? My punishment, or grounding, was to volunteer at the animal shelter? Maybe she'd think I was a bad kid and not want to see me, but she didn't seem like the type of girl who would just stop talking to me because of that.

"So, Gabriella Montez .. what is the worst thing you have ever done?" I asked, a smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"Well, in grade one, a boy said that I was mean and .. " She started laughing, I waited.

"What?" I said, chuckling myself.

"I feel so bad now, but he was asking for it." She said, still chuckling. "I kinda filled his backpack with sand." I stared at her, disbelief crossed my face.

"_That's_ the worst thing you have done?" I questions, shaking my head. She continued to laugh to herself.

"Alright, Troy Bolton," She put her elbows on the table staring into my eyes. I copied her, watching her as she was watching me. "What is the worst thing you have done?" She raised an eyebrow while my entire body froze. Should I tell her the truth? About everything? Why I was at the shelter, why I was grounded? She continued to stare at me, waiting for my answer.

"Me and my friend we nickied every house on his block. His neighbor talked to his mom, who talked to my mom, and we blamed it on another kid who lived down the street. His mother gave him so much trouble, while me and Chad just watched behind a car." I didn't technically lie. That did happen, it just wasn't the _worst_ thing I've done. Right now, it seemed the less Gabriella knew about that side of me, the better.

"Did you guys ever come clean?" She asked, I shook my head.

"We did it again two days later and the kids mother flipped." Gabriella let out a soft laugh.

"Wow," She said. "You were just the trouble maker." Gabriella looked out the window, sighing to herself. I looked around the small restaurant, seeing the small clock. Crap.

"Oh," I said, Gabriella turned to look at me. "We have to get back to the shelter." She nodded then got up from the booth, taking the tray in her hands. I followed her to the garbage where she through out our wrappers and empty drinks.

We raced across the street, before the light turned green. Gabriella looked to the pavement as we walked silently back to the shelter. At times her eyebrows would pull together, meaning something was bothering her. I was curious to know what she was thinking about. We were almost at the shelters parking lot when she turned to me.

"Is everything okay?" I asked her. Her head snapped up to me, her eyes distant.

"Pardon?" She asked. I put my hands in my pockets.

"You seem a little .. out of it." I said. "Is everything .. alright?" She nodded, quickly.

"Of course." She said, walking a little faster. "Why would anything be wrong?" I shrugged my shoulders. _You tell me._ I thought.

I opened the door for Gabriella. She smiled and walked in, greeting Nicole. Nicole quickly got to her feet., rushing over to us.

"Thank god you guys are back!" She said, taking Gabriella's hand and pulling her down the hall with me following behind. Gabriella looked back at me, confused. I shrugged my shoulders, not too sure either. "Alright, you guys have to put all this food aside. Put it in the dogs bowls, feed the cats and birds, whatever, but it needs to go .. now." Nicole said, practically jumping. Gabriella and I nodded.

"Okay, you better get started." Nicole continued, walking towards the door. "A huge shipment will be coming in less then ten minutes and we need to put it somewhere." She rushed out the door. Gabriella turned to me.

"Wow." She said. "So, what do we do with all this food?" She asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I have no idea." Gabriella sighed.

"I guess we can put it in these containers and just-"

"Oh, thank god you haven't started yet." My mother said, running into the kitchen. "All this food .. needs to be packed into the car, your taking it to the shelter downtown." She said, pointing to us. "I brought the car around the back and now we just need to load it, quickly." We nodded then got to work, lugging the food from the kitchen to the car.

Gabriella's Point of View

With Lucille helping us load the car we had it finished in time for the shipment. Troy and I had dropped it off while Lucille stayed back to sign and help with the new supply of food. There were five young girls at the downtown shelter, all in high school and all blushing over Troy. He helped them put the food in the back and helped to fix a broken door they had at the side of the building.

Troy had the door fixed in a matter of seconds. He screwed back on the door handle while each of the girls giggled and glared at me. There was one girl, who looked the oldest or just had the most make up on, that never took her hand from Troy's shoulder and when she did she looked over to me and started throwing herself all over him. To my satisfaction, Troy, would slip her arms from his neck and back away towards me. Only making each of the girls look more angry at me.

The blond, and oldest looking girl, kissed Troy on the cheek good-bye, glancing over to me and smiling when my fists began to clutch. Why was I feeling so angry? It's not like he was my boyfriend, or even that much of a friend, we just volunteered together .. everyday .. for five days a week. Yet, somehow, this made me jealous and made me want to smash that girls' face with a shovel, but that wouldn't probably end too well.

When the blond put something in Troy's hand he glanced over to me. I turned away, pretending that I wasn't interested, and watched from the corner of my eye. He smiled slightly, his dimples not showing, and put it back into her hand, telling her something and pointing over to me. The girl followed Troy's glance and her eyes narrowed. Troy got to his feet and smiled good-bye to the girl and waved to the others who watched from the window inside.

Troy walked over to me, taking my hand and waving back to the blond. He wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed my cheek. I stared up at him, shocked and surprised. His face went serious, he bent down to my ear.

"Go along with it." He whispered, staring back at the blond. I looked back at her and smiled, putting my arm around Troy. He pulled me closer and kissed my cheek again. My cheek stared stinging. That was two kisses in less then two minutes. I felt my cheek going hot while Troy opened the door to the car for me.

"Thank-you." I said, smiling. He shut the door and waved to the girls in the window. The blond stood where Troy left her, crossing her arms and shooting daggers at me. Troy climbed into the car and started the engine. The blond flipped her air and stomped through the buildings doors.

"That was fun." He said, flashing his dimples. I started laughing, remembering the blond's face.

"What was that even about?" I asked, still laughing. Troy hit the gas and looked over to me.

"Little Ms. Amber over there gave me her number and asked me to dinner." He said, looking back to the road. I stared at him.

"Go on." He smiled a little to me.

"I kinda told her that I already had a girlfriend." He said, looking guilty. "And I told her it was .. you." I started laughing even harder.

"Did you see her face when you kissed me?" Troy's eyes shot over at me. "My cheek, when you kissed my cheek." I corrected, my laughter slowing. Imagine what her face would have looked like if he actually did kiss me? Troy's face relaxed and he chuckled, concentrating on the road.

Troy's Point of View

Imagine what it would have been like if I actually did kiss Gabriella. I think she might have slapped me, maybe not though. Amber sure seemed mad when she saw me wrap an arm around Gabriella, I would pay to see that again any day. Especially if it meant kissing Gabriella again. I wonder what she would do if it happened again. There was a beeping noise coming from the car, I looked at my gas, it was almost empty.

"Hope you don't mind making a pit stop." I said, looking over to Gabriella. She smiled.

"Nope." She said, looking out be window.

I pulled into the next gas station I saw. I opened the tank and waited until the tank was half full. Gabriella jumped out of the car, looking over the hood at me.

"I'm just going to run in and get a drink, do you want anything?" She asked. I shook my head, then realized.

"No, I'm good. Do you want to pay for the gas while your in there?" I asked, she nodded. I walked around the car and gave her the money. "You can buy your drink too." She started shaking her head.

"I have some change." She said, walking into the store before I could say anything.

I ran back around to the drivers side, watching as Gabriella went to open a fridge and get a ginger ale. I opened the glove department and dug through the papers my mom had inside of it. Then, finally I found it. My cell phone. My mom had taken it away when she dropped me off at the shelter this morning. I flipped it open and saw ten text messages, all from Chad. I quickly dialed his number, looking over to Gabriella.

She was at the end of the long line. It rang five times until I finally heard a muffled greeting on the other end.

"Chad?" I said. "Man, what's up?"

"Troy?" He said. "Man, where have you been? You didn't answer me all day, where have you been?"

"My mom took my phone away." I said, watching Gabriella hand the money to the cashier. "Look, I can't talk long, just tell me when your picking me up." I said.

"I'm not sure, Zeke got busted for sneaking in and he's grounded." Chad said.

"Look, me and you will just go." I said. "We have to finish it quickly, I'm not getting caught again."

"Alright," Chad said. "I'll be there at midnight, so be ready."

"Okay," I said, watching Gabriella push the stores door open. "I gotta go, later." I closed it quickly, slipping it back into the glove department. Gabriella opened the door and handed me the change.

"Here," She said. "It was only fifteen." She put her seat belt back on and I turned the key, starting the engine.

...

**So, I'm sorry for the short chapter, but I just needed to get this out of the way. I know that this chapter seems like Troy's and Gabriella's relationship is happening really fast .. but it will slow down a little, then when the time comes, pick back up. So, what did you think about their little game of questions? Also, where do you think Troy and Chad are sneaking out to? Let me know what you think and keep posting your amazing reviews. And the next chapter wont be up for at least a couple days, it will be no later then Tuesday, so stay tuned!**


	5. I Just Want to Look in Your Eyes

Chapter Five - I Just Want to Look in Your Eyes

Gabriella's Point of View

The drive back to the animal shelter was peaceful. Troy had turned on the radio and rolled down the windows. The sun beat down on my arm as it hung from the window. Troy would occasionally hum along with the song that played, on the radio.

When we finally returned to the shelter Nicole and Lucille were still putting away the new supple of food. Troy and I walked in, offering to help. Nicole struggled putting a large bag of bird food on the top shelf. Troy stepped in, quickly, to help the brown haired beauty. He helped her jump from the chair while the kitchen door flew open. I turned to see a boy carrying a box, that hid hidding his face.

"Oh," Lucille said. "Thank god your back. You can put that on the counter." The boy walked over to the counter, setting the large box down. He walked over to the freezer, on the other side of the kitchen. Lucille came to my side. "Could you help me with something in the office, while the boys finish unloading." I nodded slowly.

Troy picked up the box from the counter, his biceps showing through his long sleeve. He walked back to the freezer, saying something to the other boy. Lucille and Nicole walked from the kitchen, with me running to catch up. Nicole went back to the desk while Lucille brought me to her office. She went straight to her desk, opening the drawer. She pulled out a stack of envelopes and turned to me.

"I'm going to be running in and out today and tomorrow." She said, walking towards me. "Would you be able to put these in the mail room? Just put them in the mail boxes and then Nicole will have more when you finish." I nodded then took the envelopes, walking towards the mail room.

I opened the door and looked at the name on the envelope, putting them in the correct mail boxes. I finished quickly then walked to the front desk. Nicole was on the phone, she looked up then pointed to the filling cabinet. On top there were three different piles of envelopes, I looked back to Nicole, pointing down at them. She nodded, I took them in my arms and went back to the mail room.

While I walked down the hallway, I saw the back of a black shirt. Walking backwards, carrying a heavy box. He slowly turned into the kitchen, Troy, who was holding the other side of the box, smiled to me. He carefully went through the kitchen door. I sighed to myself. Why was it every time I saw him, everything and everyone seemed to disappear?

I walked into the mail room, trying to focus on what I was asked to do. I found it hard to do so. My mind continued to go back to Troy. It started getting me confused. I mean, I had only known him for two days and I was getting butterflies in my stomach just thinking of him. I am the kind of girl who sits on her balcony reading Nicolas Sparks' love stories. I will cry when the lovers begin to fight, and I will start balling when they realize they had witnessed love at first sight.

I had never truly believed there was such a thing. When you first lay eyes on someone, what you notice are their clothes, face, eyes, only physical attractions. When you first lay eyes on someone you don't actually _know_ them. You can't say that they are sweet, funny, or mean because you don't actually know them, you have only seen them. I don't believe that someone can just fall deeply and truly in love with someone at first sight.

Reading books with love stories sometimes made me think otherwise, but rarely. I think back to yesterday, when I had met Troy. I thought he was gorgeous, but who didn't, I thought he had amazing eyes, and he had the body of a male model. I thought of his _physical_ attractions were breathtaking, not his _emotional_ attractions. I hadn't known him well enough to say that. Just talking and hanging out with Troy for the past two days helped me to see the real Troy Bolton.

Anyone can look like a supermodel, that doesn't mean they are kind and caring .. it means they are beautiful. To me, when you love someone you love everything about them. Not just their personality and not just their looks, you love and adore everything about them. When you love someone your entire body tingles with delight when you see them.

This is almost what it feels like being with Troy, but I had only known him less than forty-eight hours. I did think he was handsome and dashing and incredible, but I only knew half of him. I know he was gorgeous and I know he is a nice guy, but I don't know much more then that. What I have always believed in, even as a little girl, is when you are _in_ love with someone your heart tells you. When I'm with Troy my heart tells me to be careful, but how do I know that's my heart speaking? Maybe it's just me not letting my guard down, not wanting to get hurt.

When my dad left, I saw how much it hurt my mother. She sat on the couch for hours, not even talking to me. She didn't return to work for a week. Her heart was broken. When I was old enough to understand, she told me what had went wrong with them. She gave her heart to him and he broke it into little pieces. Seeing my mom like that I told myself I would never let a man do that to me, no matter what.

I know I still have a lot to learn about Troy Bolton, but the only difficulty is if my heart will let me learn it.

Troy's Point of View

"Let's put it in the fridge, to be safe." Nick said, walking backwards towards the fridge.

"Yeah." I said, feeling the box begin to slip from my grip. Nick slowly backed towards the fridge, walking right into the back. "Okay, lower on three. 1, 2, 3." I said. The huge box began to slowly drop to the floor. When my fingers felt the cold ground, I moved them quickly, letting the box hit the ground. Nick and I got to our feet, stretching our fingers.

"Wow." He said, walking around the box. "That was heavy for food." I nodded, walking out of the fridge. Nick followed me, closing the door behind him. "So," He said, jumping onto the counter. "How have things been with .. " I looked away.

"Rough." I finally said. "Every time I run into him .. he just goes crazy."

"He is crazy, man." Nick said. " Did you hear what he did last year in baseball?" I shook my head. "He was up to bat and I guess the pitcher gave him a bad pitch, he took the bat to the dude's head."

"Doesn't surprise me." I said, sitting next to Nick.

"Doesn't surprise anyone, man." He said, hitting my back.

"I don't know." I said, sitting up straighter. "It seems like he knows my weaknesses. Remember when we first saw him in the East end?" I asked, Nick nodded, remembering.

"Yeah," He said. "He was just about to smash that girls' car window. You completely screwed him over." He laughed to himself, not remembering the part I was remembering.

"Then he said that he was going to make my life a living hell if I played in the basketball championships." Nick looked to his feet, nodding his head.

"Man, you can't beat yourself up." He said. "Your team wouldn't have had chance if you didn't play and just imagine what your dad would have done if you didn't."

"Still," I said. "I could have faked an injury or something. Now he is here every night, ruining my life." Nick jumped from the counter, standing in front of me.

"What are you talking about, man?" I avoided eye contact with him. I hadn't really told him that part. "That creep is still coming on the East side?" I didn't say anything, Nick didn't need to be brought into my mess. "Why didn't you tell me?" I shook my head.

"It doesn't matter, Nick." I said, looking to him. "I'm settling it tonight." I jumped from the counter top, leaving the kitchen. I didn't have to explain myself to Nick.

"Troy!" He called after me. "Come on, man!"

I kept walking, I didn't have time to listen to his crap right now. I just needed to think. How could I settle this once and for all? I couldn't sneak out every night and meet up with him and his _pals._ Nicole was on the phone, probably talking to her university boyfriend. I slipped out the back door, not wanting her to tell my mom I wasn't working. I stuffed my hands in my pockets, cutting across the field.

I went to the small building across from the main building. I took the key from my pocket, unlocking the door. Most of the dogs were either asleep, or getting bathed. I walked over to Orion's cage, opening it slowly. His tail started waving and he began barking. I put my finger up, he stopped immediately. He walked out from his cage, going straight to the door. I closed his cage and grabbed his leash. I clipped it on his collar and pushed open the door.

Orion didn't bark once while I walked him through the clearing. I looked back to the building, to make sure no one saw me. I began running, hearing voices come around the building. Orion and I ran through the clearing and found the little pond. I sat on the bench, Orion laid on the grass and looked up to me.

"Hey buddy." I said, scratching behind his ear. His head rested on the grass in response. "It's been a rough summer, huh?"

The council at the shelter was listing the dogs that were ready to be put down. Orion was suppose to go when he first came to the shelter, I was only eleven at the time. They believed Orion was a threat to to workers at the shelter, but he responded to all my commands easily. I wouldn't let my mom put him down, so she made a deal with the council. If he slipped once and bit or injured any of the workers, he'd be put down.

It has been five years and Orion had become one of the friendliest dogs, to me of course. At the beginning of the summer the council had decided it was time for him to go, he was starting to get old. He was only a baby when he first came here, but now he needed more care than the younger ones and it was becoming difficult when the shelter continued to lose workers and volunteers.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around much this summer." I said, watching the small fish swim in the little pond. "A lot of things have been going on."

Orion barked to me. Jumping up on his legs. He put his butt in the air and his tail began waving. I stared at him, not in the mood to play catch or just fool around. I shook my head to him.

"Not right now, buddy." Orion stopped waving his tail and walked towards me. He put his head on my knees and stared at me with his huge puppy eyes. I scratched behind his ear. "Maybe later, okay?" Orion jumped onto the bench and put his head back in my lap, his eyes closing.

"You know, Orion needs to be bathed sooner or later." I turned to look behind me. My mother walked towards me, putting her hands on my shoulders. Orion's breaths got slower. I stared at him.

"I can do it myself." I said. My mom crouched down beside me.

"I know your frustrated Troy, we all are." She said. "Everyone loves Orion, but the council is trying to do what's best for him." I shook my head.

"Death," I spat at her. "Is not what is right for him." I patted Orion's stomach, he quickly jumped off the bench. I grabbed his leash while my mother got to her feet. "What's best for him is a _home_. I'm all he has right now." I tugged lightly on Orion's leash, walking past my mom.

"Troy." She called after me. I kept walking, not wanting to put up with her nonsense about what was right and wrong for Orion.

Gabriella's Point of View

"Is there anymore mail that needs to be put into the mail room?" I asked Nicole. She looked around on the desk then back to me.

"No," She said. "I don't believe there is, but if you'd like you could deliver this to Ms. Nixon, room 8." I nodded, taking the brown box from Nicole's hands. She smiled and answered the phone.

...

"How long have you been together for?" I asked Nicole. The day was almost finished and we were sitting across from each other at the front desk.

"Almost two years now." She said, smiling to herself. "We met first year of university." I nodded, smiling myself.

"Where is he this summer?" I asked.

"He went to visit his family in Florida." She said, her smile fading. "It's our first real time apart from each other, he offered me to go with him to Flordia but I hadn't seen my parents since Christmas, so I had to tell him no."

"Oh," I said. "I'm sorry." Nicole stared at me.

"There's no need to be." She said, her smile returning. "I talk to him everyday here and I'm meeting him on the 20th .. in Flordia." I laughed.

"Well, sounds like your going to have some fun before the school year starts again." She nodded.

"Yeah, hopefully." She straightened in her chair. "So, what about you?" I stared at her, confused.

"What about me?" I asked, she hung her shoulders and rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing before school starts up?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Volunteering here?" I said.

"That's it?" Nicole asked me in shock. I nodded.

"Yeah, I don't know anyone here except Troy and I only just met him."

"Then get to know him better." She said. "I've known that boy since he was fourteen, he's a pretty interesting guy." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Well I have got to know him, but not that well." Nicole shook her head at me.

"Gabriella." She sighed. "Take it from someone who knows Troy. If you don't let your guard down no one will ever get to know _you_. Trust me, I was just like you. Your probably thinking that if you let someone in, they will find a way to break your heart, but when I opened my heart .. I found Chase. Now look at us .. were happy .. together." I shook my head.

"Since when did we get on the topic of giving Troy my heart?" I asked. Nicole sighed.

"Gabriella .. listen." She said, taking my hands in hers. "Your going to have to give your heart away sometime, to meet new people and make new friends. If you don't meet new people your never going to meet the _right_ people .. in my case, Chase. I know that it's all weird, especially since you don't know Troy very well, but he's trying to get to know you .. he's trying to open up to you. Now it's your turn to open up to him. Hangout with him outside of this dump, go for a swim or for dinner. Get to know him, he wont break you down like you think he will." Nicole looked up at the clock.

"Oh." Nicole said, grabbing her purse and jumping up from her seat. "My shift just ended and it's time to close up. I nodded and grabbed my bag, turning towards the door. I looked outside and saw rain pouring from the sky. Since when did it rain like this in New Mexico? "Ready to run for you life?" Nicole asked, smiling. I nodded slowly.

"This should be fun." I said, Nicole laughed under her breath. We walked towards the door. I put my hood up and went to open the door. "I'll see you later." I said.

"Oh, Gabriella, wait!" Nicole said, catching my arm. "Here's Troy's number, I'm probably guessing his mom didn't take away his phone, text him .. see how things go." She smiled at me, handing me a small piece of paper. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gabriella." Nicole brushed past me, running towards her father's car.

I stared at the number, then dug in my bag for my phone. I couldn't find it. I sighed to myself then went back to the mail room, where I had called my mother. I walked back down the hallway, pushing the mail room door opened. My phone was sitting on the table. I snatched it the entered a new contact. I stared at the number, curious if I should call it.

I went back to the front doors. Troy's mother's car wasn't there, they must have already left. I looked back to the number, tempted to call it. I pressed the call button, then hung up. I heard laughter from behind me. I turned to see Troy leaning against the front desk, his hands in his pockets.

"Stranded here too?" He asked. I smiled then nodded to him.

"Something like that." I put my phone back into my bag and walked towards Troy. "Did mommy leave without you?" I teased. He laughted then shook his head.

"No, I told her I'd walk home, clear my mind." He said, flipping his hair from his face. I nodded slowly.

"Yeah, my mom is working late .. " I said. I could hear the rain pouring harder. The wind began picking up and there was a large flash of lightning. I sighed, turning to look out the doors. "Great." I said.

"Well," Troy said, walking closer to the doors. "This is going to be some walk home." The was a loud ringing. I looked to Troy, he held his phone in his hands, he flipped it opened. "Hello?" He said.

Troy's Point of View

"Troy? Can you hear me?" My mother's worried voice said.

"Mom?" I said, how did she know I had my phone.

"Troy, have you left the shelter yet?" She asked.

"No," I said, turning to look at Gabriella. "I'm still here, with Gabriella."

"Gabriella?" She asked. "Is her mother coming to pick her up?"

"No, I don't think so." I said. "We were just about to start walking-"

"No!" My mom said. "Both of you stay where you are, I'm coming to get you."

"Mom, I can walk-"

"Troy, stay where you are or I am taking your phone for good." She said, cutting me off. "Make sure Gabriella stays too, I don't want her walking home in this weather."

"Alright," I said. "How did you know I had my pho-"

"I put it in the glove department," She said. "It wasn't there when I left the shelter. Stay where you are, I'm coming now, okay?"

I shut my phone. I turned to face Gabriella. She was sitting on the small coffee table that was in the small sitting area. She had a jean jacket thrown over her blue sweat shirt, the hood over her hair, letting her brown curls hang over her shoulder. Her bag was slung over her shoulder and her elbows were resting on her legs, propping her chin up.

"My mom is on her way." I said, going to sit in on of the chairs beside the table. "She said she would drive you home." Gabriella sat up straight, shaking her head.

"Oh, no." She started saying. "Your mom doesn't have to do that, I live just a few blocks away .. " I shook my head.

"When I said my mom _would _drive you home, that means she _is_ driving you home, no exceptions." I said, Gabriella's face went straight.

"She doesn have to .. "

"Please," I said, leaning forward. "If you leave, my mom will flip at me for not making me keep you here." Gabriella got to her feet, walking towards the door. I got to my feet and ran in front of her, standing between her and the door, our bodies barely touching. "Not that fast."

Gabriella's eyebrows pulled together and she crossed her arms, tilting her head to look at me in the eye. I returned her stare, looking deep into her eyes. I grabbed her arms softly.

"It's not going to be _that_ bad, Gabriella." I said. There was a honking noise behind me. Gabriella sighed and uncrossed her arms, shrugging my hands off her arms. She went to step around me, but I stood in her way, again.

"Hey," I said. She rolled her eyes and looked up at me. "Are you mad at me?" I asked, smiling. I couldn't help but be amused by her angry. She sighed.

"No," She said. "Troy, I'm not angry with you. I just don't see why I can't walk home."

"You try saying no to my mother." I said, she shrugged her shoulders then stepped around me, pushing the door opened. I followed behind her. I ran ahead of her, pulling opened the passenger door. She grimaced at me, then climbed in. I closed the door behind her and jumped into the back seat.

"Troy!" My sister said, throwing her arms around my neck. I smiled down at her.

"Hey." I said. I buckled my seat belt. "How was your day?" I asked, Violet smiled and told me what she did, from start to finish. I watched, in the side mirror of the car, as Gabriella smiled to herself.

"Where do you live, honey?" My mom asked Gabriella, she turned to face her.

"27 Barkers Road." She said. So that was her house, terrific.

"Is your mother home?" My mom asked. Gabriella shook her head.

"No," She said. "She had to work late this week."

"Well I'm sorry honey," Great. "But, I'm not letting you go home to stay by yourself in this storm. You can come over to our house and I'll drive you home when your mother gets off work."

"Oh," Gabriella said. "That's a very nice offer Mrs. Bolton, but I'm really fine to stay home-"

"Nonsense dear." My mom interrupted. "Our home is your home .. "

"Troy!" Violet said, poking my arm. I turned to look at her. "Then Ms. Trainer say my painting were pretty." Violet smiled at me, obviously happy that her painting was noticed.

"That's great." I said, smiling to her.

I always felt the obligation to be a parent figure to Violet. My dad was hardly ever home which was hard on my mom. She would work longer hours and whenever my dad didn't have me training for basketball, I would take my sister to the park or watch Beauty and the Beast with her. My mom and I were always with Violet, when we could be, but my dad .. he only really saw Violet at dinner. I could tell Violet was sad about that, feeling like her own father doesn't want her. Sometimes I wish my dad would forget about me completely and at least talk to his daughter.

Violet turned to look out the window, a smile forming on her face. I looked back to the side mirror and saw Gabriella lost in thought. My mom turned up into our driveway. I unbuckled Violet and took her in my arms. Gabriella was still lost in thought as I opened the car door for her.

"Gabriella?" I said, touching her shoulder. She blinked then looked up at me.

"Were home." Violet said, ducking into my chest from the rain. Gabriella grabbed her bag and jumped out of the car, I closed the door as she ran up the steps. "Troy, run!" Violet said as she got wet. I started walking faster, straying behind Gabriella. My mom held the front door open for us.

Gabriella's Point of View

I stepped into the large foyer. There were stairs straight ahead that turned the tiniest bit at the top. To the right there were french doors that led into a small and elegant room with two couches and a coffee table. I could see the back doors just past the stairs. I removed my shoes and took off my hood. Troy put down his little sister and removed his shoes aswell.

Lucille walked past the stairs and turned into a room on the right. I could see a large stoned fireplace. Lucille walked out from the room and noticed me staring.

"Oh, Gabriella." She said, stepping towards me. "You can set your things down if you'd like and Troy can give you a tour." She raised an eyebrow to Troy, behind me. Lucille smiled at me then walked into the kitchen. I turned around to face Troy, his little sister was holding onto his hand, staring at me. I smiled at her. She looked up to her older brother. He nodded his head.

"Gabriella, this is Violet. Violet, this is Gabriella." Troy said, giving me an apologetic look I smiled and bent down to Violet.

"Hello Violet." I said. "I'm Gabriella, Troy's friend." Violet tugged on Troy's hand, he bent down as she whispered something in his ear. Troy laughed.

"Why don't you ask Brie yourself?" Troy said, smiling to me. My heart wanted to stop, drop, and roll away. And did he just call me _Brie_? Violet looked to me.

"Do you like to paint?" She asked, shyly. I laughed quietly.

"Of course I do, do you?" I asked. Violet smiled to Troy then back to me. She nodded her head.

"Do you want to see my pictures?" Violet asked me. I looked to Troy, he shrugged his shoulders. I looked back to Violet.

"I'd love to." Violet took my hand, dragging me up the stairs. I looked back to Troy and grabbed his hand, not wanting to go alone. Maybe Nicole was right, maybe Troy wasn't a bad guy and I just didn't know him well enough .. yet. Violet took me up the stairs into the first room. It had a large pink butterfly on the door and a 'V' beneath it. Before Violet opened her door, she turned to Troy.

"You have to stay here." She said, Troy nodded, sitting on stairs. I smiled as Violet dragged me into the room.

Violet's room was all pink and purple. Her walls were pink with purple butterflies all around. The bed covering was purple and she had a desk with a purple chair. She went straight to her desk to pull out three large pieces of paper. She spread them out across her bed. The first one was of her and her mother. The second was of a large flower and the third was a painting Violet and Troy. I picked it up and smiled.

"These are beautiful, Violet." I said. Violet jumped on her bed.

"Thanks." She said, she stood on her bed and walked towards me. "This one my favorite. It for Troy's birthday."

"When is Troy's birthday?" I asked her, should I get him something? Violet started counting her fingers.

"Seventeen days." She said. That would mean it's on the 31st of August.

...

Violet continued showing me the different paintings she had created. Then, finally, she took my hand and we went back into the hallway to find Troy leaning against the wall, smiling to me. Violet let go of my hand and ran up to Troy. He lifted her to his hip while she whispered something in his ear. Troy chuckled. He turned to look at me, then whispered something in Violet's ear. She smiled then looked to me.

"Gabriella," She said. "Can I come with you and Troy on the tour?" She asked. I nodded, smiling.

"Of course you can." I said. Violet looked to Troy with a huge smile on her lips. She slipped from Troy's arms and took mine and Troy's hands in hers. She pulled me to the next room.

"This is Troy room." She said, opening the door. I glanced over at Troy, he just shrugged.

His room was nothing I had expected it to be. There were two large windows on either side of his bed, facing the front of the house. His walls were a boy blue dark navy curtains covering the windows. His bed, which was neatly made with the same color of navy for his comforter, sat in between the two windows on the left wall of the room. In the corner of the right wall there was a closet door, with a poster of basketball on it and a black desk beside it. The back wall had a black dresser in the center, with a large mirror hovering over top of it.

Violet tugged on my hand pulling me around the top of the stairs. She opened another door, which I amused was their parents' room.

"This is my mommy's and daddy's room, but they don't like me playing in it." Violet said, closing the door quickly. We turned around and walked past Troy's and Violet's room, back down the stairs. Violet turned a sharp left, at the bottom of the stairs, through the french doors. I walked into the small sitting space and smelt fresh roses.

The walls of the room where a cream color, with two love seat couches the match it. The coffee table was all glass and had pink and white roses in the center of it. The floors were a dark hard wood, that stood out from the walls.

"This is the sitting room .. " Violet said, pulling me through another arch. "And this is the dinning room."

Violet continued showing me the house. Their kitchen interior looked brand new and all their appliances were up to date. Violet pulled me into another room of the house, near the front door.

The walls were a calming orange. The floors were a darker hardwood, that blended in with the chocolate brown couch. The couch faced the fireplace, with a lonely chair at each side of the room. I was taken back by how calm the interior of the room felt. Lucille came rushing into the room, looking urgent.

"Troy, sweetie." She said, a little jumpy. "I have to get to a meeting, one of my cilents need a last minute fixture. Can you watch Violet while I'm gone?" She asked. Troy smiled at her.

"Yeah, sure." He said. Lucille smiled and kissed her son on the cheek, then walked over to Violet and kissed her too. She smiled at me.

"I'll drive you home once I get back." She said, I nodded and watched her run out the door.

Troy's Point of View

I turned back to Violet and Gabriella. Violet pulled Gabriella past me and out of the room, walking back towards my parents' offices. Underneath the stairs, she opened the door to the basement. I flipped on the light for her and followed them down the stairs. Once Gabriella was down the stairs, she was pulled to the right, where our family room was.

We had a large couch that stretched out in front of a flat screen tv that hung over another fireplace. Gabriella turned back to look at me. A smiled washed over her face. Violet made her sit beside her on the couch while I was ordered to sit on the other side of her.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" She asked. Gabriella smiled at me then back to Violet.

"Sure." She said. Violet jumped from the couch and over the the shelf of DVDs. My usual shy sister seemed comfortable with Gabriella. Violet jumped in between Gabriella and I and pushed play on the remote. Then Violet turned to me.

"Troy, can you go turn out the lights?" She asked. I nodded.

"Sure I can." I got off the couch and went to the light switch at the bottom of the stairs, slipping the switch down. I returned to my spot on the couch while the opening credits for The Little Mermaid scattered across the screen. I gazed over to Gabriella. She had a warming smile on her lips and her browns eyes had a small twinkle in them, from the screen.

I was tempted to put my arm around Violet and touch Gabriella's warm cheeks, but I had to resist. As the movie progressed Violet leaned on Gabriella's right forearm. Gabriella didn't seem to be playing much attention to Violet or the movie, she seemed lost in thought.

The movie was at the part where Eric and Ariel were in a small row boat and the song 'Kiss the Girl' was being sung by the crab, Sebastian. I looked down and saw Violet sprawled across Gabriella and I. Her head was resting on Gabriella's lap while her feet were stretched across my lap. I looked over to Gabriella. She was staring at Violet and removed a strained of hair from her face. Gabriella noticed my gaze and looked up at me. I smiled.

"What?" She whispered. I shook my head.

"Nothing." I said, looking to the clock. It was almost seven. I looked back to Gabriella. "I'm just going to take her to bed." I whispered. Gabriella nodded.

I slowly moved Violet's feet from my lap. I stood up and stood in front of Gabriella. She moved Violet's head slowly while I reached down to grab underneath her arms. My fingers slowly moved over Gabriella's thigh. I could feel my heart starting to pound. Gabriella's eyes met mine as I lifted Violet to my chest. Violet's head nestled in my neck and her small breaths turned into quiet snores.

"Do you have her?" Gabriella whispered. I nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "I'll be right back. Gabriella nodded and I made my way to the stairs. I climbed them slowly, pushing opened the basement door with my foot, I made my way up another flight of stairs. I crept into Violets room, pulling down her comforters and setting her into the bed. I pulled them back up to her neck and grabbed her unicorn teddy, slipping if under her arm.

I retreated from her room, closing the door and walking back down the stairs. I walked down them quickly and jumped back onto the couch. Gabriella turned and smiled at me.

"So," I said. "Do you want to watch a different movie?" I asked, Gabriella nodded. I got back to my feet and went over to the shelf full of movies. I turned back to Gabriella, who was walking towards me. She knelt down beside me. She was close enough that I could feel her warm breath on my face and I could hear her small breaths growing heavier as we sat, staring into each others eyes.

...

**Alright, so I finished this with only ten minutes to spare! I want to thank everyone for your reviews, they are what keep me writing this. I also wanted to thank ****xZANESSA4LIFEx who gave me the idea of making Troy have a younger sister. If it wasn't for her I'm not really sure how this chapter would have ended, so thanks so much for your idea. Also, if anyone else has ideas I'd love to hear them! So just tell me through a review or message and I'll defiantly try to work it into the story, if I can. Thanks once again to everyone who has been reviewing and reading this story. I don't think I will have the next chapter up until the end of the week, but I will try my best for Thursday. Until then, stay tuned !  
**

****


	6. Stranger

Chapter Six - Stranger

Gabriella's Point of View

Troy's blue eyes stared right back into mine. They were like two shimmering pools. His hot breath was on my face, making it only that much harder to look away. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Troy could probably hear it. Troy sat on his knees, continuing to hold my eyes. I felt like I was melting to the floor. Another rush of Troy's warm breath crossed my face. I blinked quickly, but was still unable to look away from Troy's stare. Troy's face slowly moved closer to mine. He stopped halfway, keeping a steady eye on me.

I sat where I was. Maybe it was too soon to be wanting this to continue, but Nicole was right. I continued sitting where I was as Troy stared into my eyes. Our faces where just inches apart. His breath quickened while my heart wouldn't stop aching for him to finish leaning in. Then there was a loud bang upstairs. I looked at Troy, my eyes filled with worry. He got up and held his hand forward to help me. I took it without a word, staring at the cieling.

"It's probably just my mom." He said, unsure. We didn't let go of each others hands. Troy slowly walked towards the staircase. "Mom?" He called from the bottom. He turned to me, letting go of my hand. "Stay here." He said, walking up the stairs.

"Troy!" I whispered. He looked at me while we heard another bang.

"Mom?" He said again. There was know answer. I wanted to take Troy's hand again. It made me feel safe, now I just felt alone. Troy looked back to me as he was almost at the top of the stairs. "Violet." He said under his breath. His eyes filled with concern as he ran up the stairs. I followed after him, not wanting to be alone in the basement.

When I got to the top of the basement stairs, Troy, was already halfway up the other stairs. I heard him opening Violet's bedroom door. I jumped back as I heard another bang from the back door in the kitchen. I looked back up the stairs.

"Troy?" I whispered under my breath, backing towards the stairs. There was another bang. "Troy?" I said again. I knew he wasn't able to hear me.

I slowly opened the french doors and walked through the sitting area into the dinning room. I went to the far wall and slowly leaned around the table. I could see the back door. I leaned forward, looking to see out the glass door. Nothing was there. I jumped again when the phone started ringing. I walked back over to the stairs. The phone continued to ring.

"Troy?" I said. The phone rang again. "Troy, your phone is .. " I could swear I just saw someone in the back yard. My heart started pounding. I went back through to the dinning room. I put my hand over my mouth so I wouldn't scream. I took a breath before looking to the back door. Slowly leaning forward there was another bang, this time at the front door.

I went through the sitting area and back to the stairs. There was a loud bang. I ran up the stairs and saw Violet's door closed. I reached for the handle and through the door opened.

"Troy." I said, walking into the room. Violet was sleeping in her bed. I looked around her room for Troy, but I couldn't see him. I closed Violet's door and walked to Troy's room. "Troy?" I said, walking into his room. Everything looked the same as when Violet showed me earlier. I walked farther into Troy's room, hoping to see out the window.

I opened the curtain and saw a large flash of lightening. The rain was pouring straight down and only got harder as more wind picked up. I looked out onto the street and saw car lights coming up the road. I watched as they passed the Bolton's house. Since when did it ever rain like this? I thought New Mexico was dry and sunny. I guess when it rains .. it rains. I closed the curtain, walking around his room. There was a loud slam down the hall.

"Troy?" I said, walking towards the hall. My heart started pounding when there wasn't an answer. I walked towards the door. There was a shadow walking up the hallway. It stopped outside of Troy's bedroom. "Troy?" I said again. I walked out of Troy's bedroom and saw a tall man, who was defiantly not Troy.

Troy's Point of View

I closed my cell phone, walking out from my parents' bathroom. Then I heard a scream. _Oh crap_. I thought. I ran as fast as I could out my my parents room and into the hallway. Chad was holding Gabriella's arms. She struggled against them. Gabriella kept kicking and hitting him.

"Let go-" She screamed.

"Please, stop-" Chad tried saying. I ran towards them, pushing Chad away from her. I held her arms.

"Brie! Brie!" I said, trying to calm her down. When she noticed it was me she stopped struggling. She looked over to Chad and tried stepping away.

"He .. then he .. my arms." She said, her eyes mortified. I put my hands on either side of her face.

"Brie, listen to me." I said, her cheeks were burning. "This is my friend." Gabriella looked back to Chad, I could almost hear the sound of her heart fluttering. Chad stepped forward, extending his hand towards Gabriella.

"Chad." He said. Gabriella just stared at him. She looked at me. I nodded encouraging. She kept her eyes on mine.

"There was .. someone .. the door." She panted. I held onto her face.

"It was only Chad." I said. She nodded slowly then looked back to Chad. I turned to face Chad, keeping my arm around Gabriella's waist. "Gabriella .. this is Chad. Chad Gabriella." Chad smiled to her. He walked towards her, extending his hand again. Gabriella moved back a little, staring up at me. I took her hand in mine.

"It's alright Brie." I said. "He came by to see me. When I didn't answer the front door he went to the back." Gabriella just stared at me. Her eyes started moving in every direction. Then her entire body dropped. I caught her gently in my arms.

"Wow." Chad said. I glared at him. I cradled Gabriella in my arms and carried her into my room. I laid her on my bed. I went into my closet to grab a blanket. I put it over Gabriella while all the worry from her face went away.

Chad sat in my desk chair while I sat next to my bed, keeping a steady eye on Gabriella. Gabriella sleeping reminded me of watching Violet sleep. She looked like an innocent child. Her face was smooth of worry and her body was curled into a ball. Also like Violet, I felt the need to protect Gabriella. Something about her seemed to force me to watch over her.

"So," Chad said. "Let's just head out now, before your mom gets home." I glared at him again. He was asking me to leave Gabriella unprotected? Chad sighed and sat back down.

"Come on, man." He said. "This girl has you wiped and you just met her. You don't even know anything about her." I got to my feet.

"I know a lot more then you think." Chad put up his hands, as if in defeat.

"Don't take it personal, man." He said. I walked back over to Gabriella's side. Her small breaths turned into quiet snores. "Seriously though, we need to get going." I shook my head.

"Not yet." I said quietly. Gabriella let out a small moan then turned onto her side, facing away from me. Her dark curls were scattered over my pillows and my blanket was pulled up to her neck.

"Troy, snap out of it." Chad said, through a mini basketball at my arm. I turned to him. "Look, summer is over in less than a month. Would you rather James bother us during the school year?" He asked. I folded my arms.

"Since when is James bothering _us_?" I asked. "James only comes here every other night to make _my_ life a living hell, not yours or anyone else." Chad got to his feet.

"Listen to yourself, Troy." Chad said. "We've been brothers since pre-school and your going to let one girl walk all over our friendship? What is it about her anyways?" I looked back at Gabriella.

"She's not like other girls." I started saying. "Shes .. different, in a good way. I mean, she chugged a milkshake. She listens to you, no matter what your talking about. Shes just .. amazing." Chad smacked my head.

"Would you stop." He said. "She's changed you and you don't even know it." Chad and I stared at each other with fierce eyes. Finally I backed away from him.

"You should go." I said. Chad shook his head.

"Forget it," He said. "You can face James on your own." He looked back to Gabriella. "Maybe your precious girlfriend will help, cause I'm not."

Gabriella's Point of View

_Girlfriend?_ That's what I get to wake up to with? _Girlfriend?_ Is that what Troy said I was to his friend? I wouldn't mind being his girlfriend, but he'd never asked me. Plus, I don't think we know each other well enough, but in the future I think I would love being Troy's girlfriend. Taking long walks on the beach, holding hands, having picnics together .. just the two of us.

What confused me the most was what Troy's friend said, '_You can face James on your own'_. What was that suppose to mean? Who was this James anyways? Was Troy in trouble or something? I wonder if they said anything about it earlier, while I was still out. Out of nowhere I sneezed, hitting my head off my knee that was curled into my stomach.

"Ouch." I said under my breath.

"Gabriella?" Troy said, sitting on the bed next to me. "You alright?" He asked. I rolled over and faced him. I smiled to him.

"Yeah," I said, pinching my nose. "Did your friend leave?" I asked, trying to sound like I hadn't heard anything. Troy nodded saddly. "Oh." I said.

"Yeah," Troy looked at his hands then the phone started ringing. "I'll be right back." Troy said, running from his room. I nodded.

I sat up in a sitting position. I looked over to Troy's mirror. My hair looked crazy. Using my hands, I tried to take away from of the frizz. I pulled all my hair on my right shoulder and took in a breath of Troy's scent. It smelt amazing, indescribable. I smelt my hair again. It was as if I were flouting on a cloud. I heard footsteps coming back to Troy's room. I threw my hair back and leaned against his headboard.

"That was my mom." He said, putting the phone on his desk. "She said that she might be a while longer. Two streets downtown got flooded and police closed them off." I nodded then remembered my mom. I jumped out of the bed.

"I'm just going to see if my mom left me any messages." Troy nodded and got to his feet, following me down the stairs. My bag was sitting next to the door. I opened it and retrieved my cell phone. There were two missed calls. I dialed my mother's cell phone number and listened as it rung. Her voice mail came on. I pushed the end button and called her work.

"Your call has been forward to an automatic voice message system." Said a robotic voice. I pulled my phone away from me ear. The lines must have been out. I slammed my phone harshly into my bag.

"No answer?" Troy asked. I shook my head. "Do you want a drink or anything?" He asked, I nodded slowly. Troy smiled and put his hand on the small of my back, escorting me to the kitchen. He walked over to one of the cupboards and pulled out two mugs.

"Alright," He said, turning to face me. "We have hot chocolate and .. thats it." His dimples flashed at me, making my lips curve into a smile.

"Hard choice," I teased, walking next to him. "I think I'll have the hot chocolate though." He chuckled then pulled out a container of mix.

"Lucky for you, Ms. Montez. I make the best hot chocolate in the world .. or in this house anyways." Troy said, pouring mix into each mug.

"How lucky am I?" I teased again. Troy filled the kettle with water and plugged it in. We leaned against the counter, staring at one another.

We stood facing each other until the lights began to flicker. Troy reached for the kettle. He poured some water into a cup to see if it was hot enough. There was steam coming from mug. Troy turned to me with a smile.

"Your really lucky, you know." He said, handing me a mug. "There's milk in the fridge." I went to open the fridge. I took out the milk and brought it to the island, pouring some into my mug. Troy set his mug down and took mine. He began stirring it with a spoon then stirred his own. I put the milk back the looked to Troy.

"Hopefully the electricity comes back on." I said, leaning against the counter. Troy's eyebrow raised. He walked around me and opened the freezer.

"Would you like a Popsicle?" He asked, waving one in my face. I smiled and took it from him.

"Thank you." I said. Troy removed the empty box and set it on the counter.

"At least these wont have to be thrown away." He said, unwrapping his.

Troy's Point of View

Gabriella smiled as she licked her ice cream. She looked up and started giggling. I stared at her and waited for her to calm down. She pointed at my hand. I looked down and saw my ice cream dripping over the counter and the floor.

"Oh." I said, backing away and putting my ice cream in the sink. I looked around for paper towels. Gabriella stepped in front of me and began cleaning up the mess with paper towel. I grabbed some myself and started wiping the floor. Gabriella bent down and helped me when she was finished with the counter.

For the second time tonight Gabriella's face was inches from mine. I was stabbing myself for not leaning towards her and stealing a kiss from her lips. The only thing was was that I didn't know if Gabriella was ready. Whenever we're together it seemed like we have known each other for years, but in reality it's been two days.

Gabriella's hand slipped into mine, taking the chocolate covered towel from me. She got to her feet and walked over to the garbage can. I stood up and felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I flipped it opened and read the text message from James.

_You still going to meet me tonight for our little late night dance? Or are you going to be a chicken?_

I re-read the message three times before closing my phone and slipping it back into my pocket. I don't even know how he got my cell phone number, but even before the championship game I've been receiving his snarly messages. Sometimes, not in text. After the game, when everyone came to my house to celebrate, he showed up and tried to start something. Chad and some other guys stepped in before anything could happen. Something is truly wrong with him though.

"Troy?" Gabriella said. I blinked quickly and saw Gabriella standing with her hot chocolate in her fragile hands. She took a step closer to me, placing one of her hand on my shoulder. "Troy? Are you alright?" She asked.

"Sorry," I said, trying to give her a convincing smile. "I just got lost in thought." Gabriella nodded, slowly taking her hand from my shoulder.

Gabriella went to sit on the bar stool. She watched outside as the trees shook. She sighed softly and took a sip of her drink. She looked back up to me and smiled warmly. I thought I was going to have to grip the counter to stay on my feet. I forced a smile back to her, feeling my knees start to shake.

There was another loud snap of thunder followed by lightning. Somehow I had to sneak away and meet him, even if it was in the wet rain.

...

**Thank you everyone for your reviews and ideas. I read over some of the ideas and I loved them all! I will try my best to get them into the story in the near future. I am also sorry for the shorter chapter. This wasn't the original ending I wanted to have, but I'll have all next chapter to fix things up. So, do you think that Troy will go to meet James? What do you think will happen when he doesn't have Chad to back him up? As always I'd love to hear what you thought Wednesday evening. Thanks so much again and stay tuned!**


	7. Aftermath

Chapter Seven - Aftermath

Gabriella's Point of View

The storm was only getting worse and I still didn't hear from my mother. Troy kept telling me that everything was fine and she probably got stuck in the rain. Even with Troy's calm and smooth voice it was still hard not to worry. Troy had heard from his mom. Most of the roads were closed off because of flooding and she wasn't able to get through. My mom did work all over the city and there was no telling which office she was at right now. I tried calling her main office. They said that she had left over half an hour ago.

I continued to try her cell phone, but like before there was no answer. Troy sat across from me on the other sofa in the sitting room, watching me worry and call different numbers. When I got her voice mail again I closed my phone and threw it away from me. Troy got up and went to pick it up off the ground. He came and sat next to me. I put my head in my hands. Why was I so worried anyways? She was probably in some cheap restaurant waiting for the roads to be opened again.

"It's going to be alright, Brie." Troy said, putting an arm around my waist and pulling me into his chest.

Usually I would object to this, but Troy's arms were so large and warm that it was almost impossible to pull away from them. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hide my face in his neck. I probably looked terrible right now. I was tired and worn out and all I wanted to do was fall asleep. Then again, falling asleep in Troy's arms wouldn't be so bad, would it? I smiled to myself. Taking in Troy's scent.

_What are you doing, Gabriella?_ I thought to myself. If I got too comfortable something more might happen. I wasn't ready for anything more to happen. Troy probably wasn't ready for anything more. I froze how I was. Troy, keeping his arms around me, pulled away to look at me.

"Is everything alright?" He asked. I stared up into his beautiful blue eyes and nodded slowly. I unwrapped my arms from his neck and struggled in his until he let go. I got to my feet and went to the window. I could hear Troy coming up behind me. I didn't turn around. I didn't breath. I didn't think about him. I didn't do anything. I couldn't. I wasn't ready and neither was Troy.

My phone started ringing. I couldn't move my feet to go get it. I wasn't worried about my mom anymore. I knew she was strong enough to handle a little storm like this, it was probably just my cell phone company anyways. I listened as Troy ran to get it. I let out a big breath and held my eyes closed. The only thing that I didn't want to think about was Troy. Yet everytime I close my eyes, it's his face that I see. It's his scent that I smell. It's his arms that I want wrapped around me.

"Brie?" Troy said from behind me. "Gabriella, it's your mom." I opened my eyes slowly and turned to take my phone from Troy.

"Mom?" I breathed.

_"Gab's?" _She said, almost confused. _"Who answered your phone?" _She asked. I looked up to Troy. He was walking into the kitchen.

"It was Troy, a boy that I volunteer with." I said.

_"Oh," _My mom said, almost surprised. _"Are you still at the shelter?" _

"No," I said, hearing the phone ring in the kitchen. "Troy's mom drove me to their home, she didn't want me to stay home alone."

_"Oh, that was nice of her." _I nodded to myself, hearing Troy speak on the home phone. _"Well Gab's, listen. Is there anyway you could stay there for a little longer?" _She asked.

"Uh, I'm not sure, why?"

_"My car was parked on the road and the entire street is flooded."_ She said. _"I'm looking for a ride, but I might not find one."_

"It's alright mom, I can walk home if I need to. Troy only lives a couple blocks away." Okay, maybe Troy live a couple dozen blocks away, but a little lie never hurt anyone.

_"Well, just wait for the storm to pass, honey. If I find a taxi I'll call you and come get you. Alright?" _She asked.

"Yeah, it's fine mom." I said, still listening to Troy in the other room. It must have been his mother.

_"Okay, I love you."_

"Love you too."

_"Bye, Sweetheart." _

"Bye, mom." I closed my phone and put it in my pocket. I heard Troy hang up too. He came rushing into the sitting room.

"That was my mom." Troy said. "She's stuck downtown. Half of the streets are flooded and lots of people are stranded."

"Yeah, my mom is one of them." I said, sitting back down on the couch. Troy went to sit beside me.

"Oh, is she alright?" He asked. I nodded. "That's good. Anyways, my mom probably wont be back for a little while."

"That's fine, my mom wont be home for a little more then a little while." Troy smiled at my terrible joke.

"So," He said, getting to his feet. "What would you like to do for the time being?" I couldn't help but laugh as he pulled me to my feet with him.

Troy's Point of View

It was nearly midnight. Gabriella and I watched some television and we were now watching the Titanic. Gabriella had told me, as the opening credits ran across the screen, that this was one of her favorite movies and that she cried almost every time she saw it.

The movie was now at the screen where over half of the passengers were panicking in the water. Rose was floating on a door while Jack clung onto the side of it, holding Rose's hand. I continued to watch in horror. To think that this actually happened. I couldn't even imagine being on an amazing ship and having it sink. Leaving you, your friends, your family, and strangers screaming for help in the cold water. I think I would have taken one of the crew's guns and shot myself. I'd rather die fast then die slowly.

I heard a small noise from beside me. I looked over and saw Gabriella's eyes closed and her mouth opened a crack. I smiled as I heard another small snore escape her mouth. I took the cushion from the couch and walked to Gabriella's side. Her head was resting on her shoulder and her feet were tangled together. I put the pillow on the ground. I put my arms under her legs and behind her back.

Slowly I lifted her in my arms and laid her back down into a laying position. I stuck the pillow under her head and looked around for a blanket. I went into the guest bedroom, beside the stairs, and pulled one off the bed. I went back to Gabriella. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and her hands were under her cheek. I smiled and laid the blanket on top of her. I went to lay on the other couch, watching the rest of the movie.

...

"Troy." Something shook my arm. I slowly opened my eyes and saw my mom looking down at me. I was confused at first. I didn't even know where I was until I saw the black screen on the t.v. I proped myself on my elbows and yawned. "Troy, there's breakfast upstairs if you want any."

"What time .. is it?" I asked, moving into a sitting position. I looked to the other couch and saw the pillow I had put under Gabriella. I looked down and realized my legs were tangled into the blanket that I had put on Gabriella. "Where's Bri-?" I was cut off by a yawn.

"It's almost eleven." She said. "Gabriella's upstairs with Vi, we'll upstairs if you want any." I nodded and rubbed my eyes as my mom marched back up the stairs.

The last thing I remembered was watching Rose kiss Jack's hand as she let him trail behind the Titanic in the ocean. Everything was cloudy after that. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out of my jeans and saw that I had one new text message. Damn! I forgot to meet him! Ugh, great. I opened the message and read it quickly.

_guess u were 2 chicken! sucks for u._ James said. I clenched my phone in my hands. I threw it to the ground and started hitting the pillow.

When I finally calmed down I picked up my phone and slide the battery into the back of the phone. I put the cover on it and slipped it back into my pocket, walking up the stairs to breakfast.

Gabriella's Point of View

I poured the syrup on my pancakes. Lucille had made so much it wasn't even funny. There was eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, toast, fruit .. I was stuffed just looking at it all. I cut my pancake with my fork and took a bit. It was still a bit hot but it tasted amazing. It was the best panacake that I had ever tasted.

"This is delicious." I said to Lucille after I swallowed. She smiled.

"I'm glad you like it." She said, coming to the table with milk and orange juice. "I wasn't sure if Troy fed you last night, so Violet and I decided to make a big breakfast." Violet took another bite of her waffle, nodding to me. I smiled. The basement door creaked opened. Violet, sitting across from me, swallowed hard and a large smile spread across her face.

"Troy!" She squealed. I turned around and saw Troy leaning on the island. Troy smiled.

"Good morning." He saw me and his smile grew a little larger.

Troy was still wearing the jeans he had wore yesterday and the white t-shirt he had put on before we watched the movie. His hair was almost taller than Mount Everest. He joined me and his family at the small table in the kitchen. He sat next to me, putting his napkin on his lap. He reached in to grab one of everything.

"Did you get to talk to your mom today?" He asked. I nodded.

My mom had called me early this morning, eight o'clock early. She said that she had to stay at a hotel. The entire street was closed off and everyone who was stuck down there had to go to one of the two hotels. Her car was going to be towed today, after the water was dealt with, and then she would be able to leave.

"Yeah." I said, looking up to Troy. "She had to stay at a hotel last night and when they are finished cleaning the street then she can go home."

"Oh," Lucille said. "You two volunteer today, don't you?" Troy and I nodded and continued to eat our breakfast. "Well, once your finished eating Gabriella I will take you home and you can get ready. Troy Peter Bolton! Chew with your mouth closed, please." I looked over to Troy. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled slowly. I coughed to try and cover a laugh.

...

Once I finished my breakfast I helped Lucille to clean up a little. I put away the dishes that were already clean and I help Violet get ready while Troy finished his breakfast and Lucille got ready. When Violet had finished brushing her teeth and fixing her hair we made our way downstairs. I grabbed my bag that was still by the door and got my shoes on. Lucille ran down the stairs and went into the kitchen.

"Alright, Troy." She said. "Violet's coming with me, so you can get ready when you finished eating, also wash your dish and if you want any laundry done today put it in a basket and set it in the hallway, okay?" Troy nodded and Lucille kissed his head. "See you soon."

She ran back to me and Violet and got her shoes on. She searched in her purse until she found the keys then we walked to the driveway. It was a really sunny day, hard to believe after the storm last night. She buckled Violet in her car seat and drove out of the driveway. I told her what streets to go down and what house to turn at. Finally, I was home.

"That's for everything, Mrs. Bolton." I said, she smiled.

"Oh, Gabriella, you can call me Lucille." She said. "And anytime you need a place to stay just call us. I'll be back to pick you up in about an hour, okay?" I shook my head.

"It's alright .. I can walk .. "

"No, no, no. Don't be silly." She said. "I'll see you soon."

"Okay. Bye Violet." I said, she smiled. I smiled to Lucille and watched her pull away.

...

**Alright, I'm SO sorry for the late update, short chapter, and boring chapter. I was planning on making this a lot longer but I'm leaving tomorrow for a small vacation and I needed to pack. So, I will be writing while gone, but im not sure if I will have internet to put the chapter up. I will try my best and I will get it up as soon as I can. I wont be back until sometime Monday, so if I'm not back too late then it will be up on Monday and if not then sometime Tuesday. I will make sure that it's more exciting and much, much, much more longer. Again, so for the gap update and I will talk to you guys in a couple of days! **


	8. Finding Feelings

Chapter Eight - Finding Feelings

Gabriella's Point of View

Lucille had picked me up and I was seated in the front seat of her car. Troy sat in the back with his sister while we drove around the corner and up the street to the shelter. Lucille dropped Troy and myself off then had to go and take Violet to her babysitters. My mother had called me before I was picked up. She was just waiting for her car to be toed away then she was able to come back home.

Right now, I stood next to Troy and listened to the radio while putting the mail away. Troy had defiantly cleaned up nicely. His hair wasn't standing tall and the black from under his eyes had disappeared. He was wearing a blue shirt, which made his eyes stand out beautifully, and long beige shorts with light brown flip flops. An outfit that suited him perfectly.

He was humming along to the radio. I recognized the song. It was called Disturbia, but I couldn't remember who sung it. I knew it wasn't Mariah Carey or Brittany Spears. It was on the tip of my tongue. It was sung by .. Rhianna! That's who it was from.

"Disturbia!" Troy sang under his breath. I pressed my lips together and tried not to laugh. "Distubia!" He sang again. He turned to get another pile of envelopes from the small table. I sat on the table and watched him, holding my breath to keep from laughing. He caught me looking at him and stared at me with a questioning look. "What?" He asked.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. My lips parted and I nearly fell off the table. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and crouched over. My stomach was in pain from me laughing so hard. I couldn't even breathe. I looked back up at Troy with tears in my eyes. He started to chuckle, watching me roll onto my back. I tried to stop laughing but Troy's singing kept coming back into my mind.

"Are you alright?" Troy asked, laughing himself. I tried nodding but I rolled over. Then the table disappeared from under me. My feet touched the ground and I reached my hands out to the ground, but I never hit it.

Something tight was wrapped around my waist and I was being pulled to my feet. I could feel the warmth of the arms around me and the large muscles being put to work. Troy placed my straight up and stared into my eyes. They were large and he looked terrified. His grip loosened but his hands stayed on my waist. My hands were on his arms and his face was inches from mine.

His warm breath filled my mind and everything started spinning. Troy's eyes focused on me and I felt my heart melt. What was it about this guy? His built body was part of it and his protective grasp was too. Although I could live without the singing. Troy's singing was .. hilarious. The image and sound of his voice made me start laughing all over again.

Troy kept looking down at me. I couldn't even breathe anymore. My head flew backwards as I let out another bouncing laugh. I looked back to Troy to see him still staring at me, a smile on his face. My laughing slowed as his smile grew larger. My body wasn't responding to me anymore. I started falling forward, but Troy's hands pushed my back up. He helped me back onto the table and stood in front of me.

"You okay?" He asked. His smile faded into worry. I nodded, smiling to myself.

"Yeah," I said. "I'm finished now." Troy nodded and crossed his arms.

"So?" He said, staring at me. I returned his gaze and shrugged my shoulders. "What was so funny anyways?" I smiled and chuckled to myself.

Troy's Point of View

Gabriella's laugh was .. spectacular. It was like nothing I had ever heard in my life. It sounded like bells chiming, but still Gabriella. She seemed to just let go of herself, like there was a huge wall she had built up and in that second, she just tore it down. She had tears staining her eyes and her lips were stretched out. Something I had never witnessed from her. It was the first time I had seen her look .. happy.

I was practically dying to touch her again. Her waist, her arms, her cheeks .. her lips. I bet her lips would be just as soft as her skin. I shook my head quickly. I couldn't think about this. Gabriella was so gentle and sweet and caring .. almost like she could never be mine. I could care less though, I like Gabriella and I would be hurt if there was another person in the picture that wasn't me.

"You weren't lying when you said you could sing." Gabriella said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Are you making fun of me?" I asked, taking a step closer to the table. Gabriella's eyes widened and she looked shocked.

"Me?" She said, almost insulted. "_Me_ making fun of _you_?" Gabriella's lips formed a smile.

She threw her legs over to the other side and slide onto her feet. She looked back to me and turned up the radio.

"Disturbia!" She said in a manly voice. She started laughing. So she was mocking me. I felt the corners of my lips tug into a smile.

"Oh that's it, your dead." I said, jumping over the table to Gabriella. Her smile widened and she ran to the other side of the table. I chased after her. She went to the other side of the chair, holding out her hand towards me.

"Troy, stop." She said seriously. "We need to finish this." I nodded slowly and looked to the table.

Gabriella came around the chair and went to walk behind me. Then, I jumped as her hands flew to my waist and started tickling me. She laughed as she ran to the door. I threw the envelopes down and ran after her. My arms went around her waist with ease, lifting her off her feet and turning her away from the door. She started laughing again.

I set her on her feet, leaving on arm around her waist. She struggled to get free, still laughing. I tickled her stomach with my free hand. She started kicking her legs and threw her head back onto my shoulder.

"Say your sorry!" I teased and she kept laughing.

"No!" She laughing, kicking me lightly.

"Say sorry!" I laughed. My fingers continued to tickle her stomach as Gabriella struggled in my arms.

"Sorry!" She screamed, trying to break lose of my grip. I started laughing and kept tickling her.

"Say I'm the best and hottest guy in the world!" I said, having a little fun.

"Your the best and .. " Gabriella kept laughing. "Hottest guy in the wor-"

"What are you two doing?" Said an alarming voice behind us.

I stopped tickling Gabriella and let go of her waist. She stopped laughing and we turned to see who had walked in on us. I looked to the door and saw a young lady with her arms crossed. I saw Gabriella turn towards the back wall. Nicole shook her head and smiled to me. I shrugged my shoulders and watched Nicole walk into the room. She held out and envelope, I took it.

"That needs to go into Dytoma." Nicole said, leaving the room. She stopped at the doorway and turned to face me. "And keep it down."

Nicole left the room while Gabriella took the envelope from my hands. I looked at her while a smile played on her lips. I took the envelope back and lifted my hand in the air. Gabriella stood in front of me and went to reach for it, but she was too short.

"Troy, we really should get this done." Gabriella said. "I would like to eat my lunch."

I laughed under my breath and held it out for her. Gabriella smiled in satisfaction and went to reach for it. Right before her hand touched the envelope I pulled it away. Gabriella raised her eyebrows to me then went to reach for it again. I pulled it away right before she touched it. Gabriella put her hands on her hips and stared at me. I sighed and held the envelope out to her.

"Here." I said.

Gabriella reached out to grab, but I pulled it away. She grunted under her breath and turned away from me. I coughed to cover a laugh. I walked up behind Gabriella and held it up to her.

"Look, I'm sorry." I said. "Here." Gabriella stared at me and then to the envelope.

I waited, holding out the envelope. Then, Gabriella's face lit up and she jumped at the envelope. I pulled it away and put my arm in the air. Gabriella jumped at it, but she still couldn't get it. She tried jumping again, this time she got it. I stood where I was a little shocked.

Gabriella's Point of View

I started laughing. Something about this day was making me laugh and be more opened. Troy made me laugh every time I was with him. He made me smile and made me nervous. It was something about Troy that made me .. _me_. The shy girl behind the wall.

I put the envelope into the proper mail box and rubbed my hands together. Troy stared at me with his arms crossed and two dimples on either side of his smile.

"So, now you think your all that?" Troy joked. I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

"You just weren't fast enough." I said, walking toward the door. Troy jumped in front of me, blocking my exit.

"Still not fast enough?" He asked, his dimples still flashing. A slight smile played on my lips. I raised my eyebrows and walked around him.

I walked down the hallway to the front desk. Nicole was writing something down on a sheet of paper. I went to the front of the desk and leaned forward. Nicole was writing a list of food. She glanced up at me and smirked.

"So," She said. "You and Troy seemed to be hitting it off." All I could do was smile. Troy. Everything seemed to come down to Troy. He was everything. He was funny, smart, handsome, and knew how to have fun. I had never met a guy like him. I don't think I had ever seen a guy like him.

"Troy and I are .. " I said, trying to think of what Troy and I really were. We aren't _together_ but we aren't really _friends_ either. Well I guess you could call us friends, but what does Troy call us? Does he even consider me as a friend?

"Troy and you are .. dating? Together? Friends?" Nicole said. I shook my head.

"I'm not sure." I said truthfully. "Troy just .. he gets me. He makes me break out of my shell and tear down the wall I've spent years building."

"Sounds to me that little Gabriella has a crush." Nicole teased. She got up from her desk and went over to a filing cabinet. I followed her.

"Excuse me?" I said. There was no way I like Troy. I hardly even knew him. All I knew is that he liked ice cream and is going to East High and is close to his sister and he played basketball and he .. I knew more than I thought.

"Whatever makes you happy." Nicole said, walking back to her desk. I followed her and watched her answer the phone. "Albuquerque's Animal and Medical shelter, Nicole speaking." I shook my head as Nicole started writing down a message.

I started back down the hallway and into the spare office. So I knew things about Troy, but that didn't mean I liked him and it didn't mean he liked me. What if he did like me though? He'd tell me and ask me out, right? What if he did like me but he wasn't sure about what I would say or do? Why would that bother me so much? I don't like Troy and he doesn't like me. For all I know he has a girl friend. Why would that bother me even more?

I tried shaking the thoughts from my mind, but they kept coming back. I couldn't imagine Troy walking down the beach holding some blond girls hand and telling her how beautiful and how lovely and perfect she was. That just made me want to throw up.

I opened the office door and went behind the desk to get my bag. I picked it up and went back down the hallway. I decided to go out the back door, not wanting to encounter Nicole again. I opened the back door and started to the side of the building. I found the picnic table I had sat at my first day. I put my bag next to me on the ground and pulled out my book and sandwich.

Troy's Point of View

"So," Nick said, sitting on the counter top. "You missed James last night because you fell asleep? You didn't even fall asleep _with_ her?" I leaned on the island across from Nick. He quickly raised his hands in front of him. "Sorry man, but really? You probably missed an awesome fight just to sleep across from a girl." I shook my head.

"Do you really think that there would have been a fight?" I asked. "All that douche bag would have done is continue to make my life a living hell!"

I jumped off the island and put my hands on my head. Why did my life have to be so messed up? Not only does my best friend hate me, so does my dad and James is walking behind my back and messing my life up even more. I heard Nick jump off the counter and walk behind me.

"Come on, Troy." He said. "The only way your going to get him off you back is by facing him and I didn't mean anything bad about Gabriella."

"Gabriella isn't, in anyway, related to what is happening in _my_ life. I don't care about sleeping with her and I sure as hell don't care enough about her to even care about her!" I yelled to Nick. He took a step back and looked at me, wide eyed.

"Okay, that made no sense." Nick laughed. I glared at him. His face went serious again. "Sorry." He said again, holding out his hand. I closed my eyes for a second and glanced back to Nick's hand. I nodded and took his hand. We did our handshake that we had made up years ago. "We cool?" Nick asked. I nodded.

"Sorry dude." I said. Nick nodded and started for the door.

"Well my break is over, later." Nick left out the door and was probably going over to feed the birds.

I leaned back on the counter and closed my eyes. Why was life so complicated? And why couldn't I stop thinking about Gabriella? Didn't I have better things to think about? It didn't make any sense, well it did, she was pretty and smart. She had that smile and the brains. Gabriella didn't seem to be _that_ girl, the one who wore short skirts walking down the hallway. Gabriella was just her and that was the most beautiful person I had ever seen.

_I_ wanted to be the one who held her hand down the beach. _I_ want to be the one she can cry to. _I_ want to be the one she can tell anything to. _I_ want to be the one that she gives her heart to. _I_ want to be the one who tells hers how amazing she is. _I_ want to be the last one to talk to her before she goes to bed. _I_ want to be the one she calls her boyfriend.

...

**PLEASE READ !**

**I am so, so, so, so sorry about the very late update! On my vacation there was an accident and my sister went into the hospital. Everything is alright now, but I had to stay there and her waddle on her crutches. Which also meant that I wasn't able to post or write. I have this chapter and I am working on the next one. I am not sure when it will be finished, but for sure by next Thursday. So it might be a little crazy and the updates may not come as quickly. There will be one at least each week. I'll try for two, but it's going to be a little rough. When school starts I _should _be back on track. I will be trying as hard as I can, so please just be patient for now. **

**Well, I hope you liked the chapter! I thought I'd add a little more romance. I didn't want to over due anything, so hopefully I didn't. Also, thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. It really does mean a lot to me when I check my email and there is 15 new messages, all from fanfiction. I truely have the best readers and thanks so much. **

**So, tell me what you think and I'll have the next chapter up by next Thursday. And a very random question .. does anyone watch Degrassi? And is anyone watching the finale tonight? Well, I know that I'm dying to watch it. I really hope that Fitz doesn't kill Eli or anything like that, so let me know what you think .. and after the episode tell me what you thought of it!**

**You can follow me on twitter (**/jennelhowes**) I'll be updating and telling when chapters are done and ready so check it out.  
**


	9. Dealing With the Past

Chapter Nine - Dealing With the Past

Gabriella's Point of View

I left the shelter early. My stomach felt like it was ready to explode. Nicole drove me home and gave me Advil to try and get rid of my headache. Once I had gotten home I went straight to my room and into my bed. I shoved the Advil in my mouth and took a drink of the water, on my bedside table. I laid my head on my pillow and closed my eyes, hoping the sleep would catch up on me quickly.

...

I shot up from my bed and tried to calm myself down. I looked to my clock and saw I was only asleep for an hour. There was a loud shattering. I jumped again and felt my heart re-starting. I waited a moment, until I heard another smash. I stood up from my bed and went towards my mother room to look out the front window.

I pulled the curtain over enough to look outside. There was another smash. I looked out on the street and finally found a group of boys. Like my first week here, a short boy with brown hair, threw a beer bottle in the air. Another boy, who was much taller and had jet black hair, swung the baseball bat in his hands and smashed the bottle.

The sound was ear piercing. I watched as the brunette threw another bottle in the air, setting the other boy up for a hit. The glass scattered across the street, right in front of my drive way. The tall boy smashed another bottle. I could feel another head ache coming. I closed the curtain and went back to my room, closing the door.

I laid in my bed and prayed that it would pass on. I closed my eyes and tried to picture myself back in New York, but once again there was another loud smash outside my mothers window. I tightened my eyes closed and pulled a pillow over my head.

_I was in New York, walking down the stairs to get the mail. I slipped the key into the mailbox and opened it. There was five envelopes sitting inside of it. I reached my hand in the pick them up. I flipped through them, seeing if there was anything for me. Surprisingly, there was. I closed the mailbox and turned my key._

_I went to walk back into the building I tripped on the carpet, of course I would. I started gathering the mail when I saw the buildings front doors open. Then, there was another hand next to mine, helping me gather the mail._

_"Need help?" A familiar voice said. I looked up and saw the boy who stole all the girls' hearts. Landon Mathews. I nodded slowly, getting to my feet. A hand went under my arm and helped pull me to my feet. The touch was cool, was almost like a late fall wind. _

_"Here, I think these are yours." Landon said, handing me two envelopes. I stared at him and took them. _

_Landon had dirty blond hair and light highlights. He was normally jumping around in a football, volleyball, or basketball uniform. In grade nine, he was the best junior on the team. He was always on top of the class with grades and was known by everyone in the school. Landon was going to go far if he continued to do good in academics and his sports. _

_All the girls watched him pass by them or they would flip their hair when walking passed him. Landon had a girlfriend, of course, she was the captain of the volleyball team. He also dated a cheerleader, but her grades went down and her parents made her break it off. Landon took the break up hard, he seemed to really care about her. Then he met Marissa. _

_Marissa was, without a doubt, pretty and smart. She was athletic and had the brains to make it in life, however, she was cheating on him. I remember one day while I was walking through the soccer field, I had seen her and boy from the water polo team on the bleachers, trading spit. I felt bad for Landon, but what did he expect? She was a girl who had the looks. I never found out if he knew about Marissa and .. the other dude._

_"Hey, aren't you in my English class?" Landon asked me. I nodded._

_"History and Math too." I said, looking to my feet. Landon nodded._

_"Yeah," He said, a smile forming. "Your Gabriella Montez." I stared up at him, confused of how he actually knew me. I wasn't the girl who came to his football games and basketball games. I would be the girl who sat at home and studied for a pop quiz. "My sister was on the math team, you took them to States, didn't you?" He asked._

_I had forgotten that Landon's sister was on that team. I wasn't really friends with anyone except one girl, but she ended up moving away towards the end of the year. The math team didn't seem to accept how smart I was. I didn't really pay much attention to it, I worked better on my own anyways._

_"That's really cool." Landon said. "I didn't realize you lived in this building." _

_"Yeah, I do." I continued to stare at my feet. Not wanting to fall for Landon's hazel eyes. "I have to .. " I said, pointing to the door. Landon nodded and opened it for me. _

_"I'll see you tomorrow." He said, smiling. I nodded and looked into his eyes, for the first time. The hazel had a pinch of green in them, which surprised me. His smile was like it came from a magazines. Shinny white crystals glowing in the sun. "It was nice meeting you .. formally." Landon said, I forced a smile and turned to leave._

My eyes fluttered opened. At first I was confused. I was just in New York with Landon, now I was in a room full of boxes. I squeezed my eyes closed and looked at my clock. It was almost six o'clock. I threw my head back onto my pillow.

I found it weird having that random dream of Landon. After our first encounter Landon and I became fairly close friends. We became partners in History and we would study together at the library. He did end up finding out about Marissa. Once, while we were studying together, we decided to study right after school in the field. Landon always said that being outside always helped him think. It was that day Marissa and Water Polo decided to have a make-out session in the grass, just as Landon and I were arriving.

Landon took it hard and after that we became more distant. His grades started to go down and he didn't go to his football games. He didn't do many sports that brought him back to that field and those memories. I wouldn't blame him, he truly cared for her and for half a year she went behind his back.

What a random dream to have.

Troy's Point of View

I had to walk home from the shelter. My mom was going to pick up my dad from the airport and Violet was at our neighbors until I picked her up. My dad coming home should have been like waiting to watch a movie you have been dying to see. For me, it was like going to your grandparents barn for the summer, something I wasn't looking forward to.

Violet seemed happy that he was coming home. She was still young though and didn't understand why me and him fight all the time. I tried to tell her once, but I figured it might disappoint her to know that her father only cares for himself and basketball. I wasn't going to be the one to set Violet up for disappointment, although her father shouldn't be that person either.

I rushed across the street to my neighbors' house. I tapped on the door softly. When there wasn't an answer I knocked again and waited. The door opened slowly and a strawberry blond appeared.

"Hey Dana." I greeted. Dana and I had been neighbours since we were kids, but we had total opposite personalities.

"Hi Troy." She smiled. She opened the door wider for me to come in. "Vi, your brother is here." Dana called. There was a thud on the top floor and Violet appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Troy!" She chimed. She ran down the stairs and jumped into my arms. "Is daddy home yet?" She asked. I shook my head.

"Not yet," I said. "We need to get home and get you into the bath." Violet nodded and slid out of my arms. She sat on a stair and started pulling her shoes on. I turned to Dana. "Thanks for watching her." I said. Dana smiled.

"Anytime, she is such a sweetheart." I nodded.

"She is." Violet jumped to her feet and hugged Dana.

"Thanks Dana." She smiled, waving. I smiled to Dana and grabbed Violet's hand.

"See you later." I waved. Dana smiled and closed the door. Violet jumped down the porch steps and turned back to me.

"Do you think daddy will be happy to see me?" She asked. I smiled and lifted her up into my arms.

"I'm sure he will be .. delighted to see you." I wasn't sure what else to say. I knew he wasn't going to be _delighted_ to see me. Maybe Violet, but very doubtful. Violet laughed as I ran her across the street and up the steps.

I dug in my pocket for the house key. When I finally found it I put it in the lock and turned it. Violet raced into the house to take off her shoes. She ran into the kitchen and ran back out to me.

"How much longer until daddy's home?" She asked. I glanced at the clock in the living room.

"I'm not sure." I said, setting mine and Violet's shoes on the shoe rack. Violet nodded and started to climb the stairs.

"If I have a bath, will I be done when he gets home?" She asked. I followed behind and nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "Dad will be home by then." Violet nodded to herself and started climbing faster. She went straight into the bathroom and stood next to the tub. I kneeled down next to the tap and turned it on warm. I waited until the temperature was right then I got to my feet and turned to Violet. "You get ready to get into the tub and I'll go get your clothes, alright?" Violet nodded.

I turned out of the bathroom and turned into Violet's room. I went to her dresser to get her underwear and a night gown. I brought it back to the bathroom and saw Violet standing next to the tub, waiting for me to help her get in. I set her clothes on the counter and lifted her into the tub.

"Is that warm enough?" I asked her. She nodded. "Do you want your toys?" Violet's face lit up and she nodded. I went under the sink and grabbed the small basket of bath toys. I brought it back to Violet and waited a while longer until I turned off the tap. I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket. I looked to Violet. "I just have to make a quick call, call me if you need anything." Violet nodded and dipped her plastic mermaid into the soap water.

I got to my feet and left the bathroom, leaving the door opened in case she needed me. I checked the message Nick had sent me.

_If u need a wing man call me_

I held my phone tightly in my hands. I glanced back to the bathroom and heard Violet splashing her toys. I re-read the message then dialed Nick's number. I kept looking back to the bathroom. It rang five times before a voice came on the other end.

"_Hello?_" Nick said on the other end. I listened for Violet. She was splashing.

"Hey, midnight tonight, meet you at Sylvia Park." I said. I hung up the phone and went back to the bathroom. Violet was was on her knees, leaning over the tub. The basket of toys were on the floor. Violet looked up at me, her face looked worried.

"They fell." She said, trying to reach them. I sighed and went to help her.

Gabriella's Point of View

My mom was tight in bed. Her bags were at the bottom of the stairs, still zipped up. It was almost ten o'clock now. I had tried to finish unpacking. I was close to being done, I only had three boxes left. I had made myself a small dinner, watched t.v, and read for about a half hour. I wasn't tired anymore and I didn't have a head ache.

I decided to go on my laptop. My mother had bought it for me and her to share, but her work gave her one when she joined the union. I had only used it for my projects and research, I wasn't one to be sitting on the computer for hours, unless I had a project or speech to write. I figured I should check my email. It had been almost a week since I had checked it and I was hoping that Landon maybe sent me one.

I typed in my email address and my password and saw I had three new mail. Two were to update my hotmail and the other was from LMatt-. I opened the message quickly. The last two times I had talked to Landon were just before exams and a week before I moved. Neither encounters were very long. The message was only a paragraph long. I closed my eyes and started to read what he wrote.

_Hi Gab's. I know I have been a little distant from you since the Marissa thing. It has been really hard for me to keep up my grades and my sports while dealing with people. I could only imagine how angry you are with me, especially since I never said good-bye or good luck with your move. I was just very angry with myself and I had personal things I had to deal with. I didn't want to risk our friendship over it. Your the one girl I had ever met that could help me through my problems and actually listened to them. I just wanted to say that I am sorry for ignoring you and not being there for you. You will always be my girl. I should have told you how I felt, but I didn't want to jeopardize anything. I know this isn't much better, but I needed you to know. I went by your apartment the day you left, but I was too late. I'm sorry I couldn't be the guy you always told me about. I will keep trying Gab's, I promise._

_Love, Landon_

My heart almost shrunk. Landon was confessing his love to me? What the hell. He didn't talk to me for months at a time and now that I'm gone he tells me he will keep fighting for me? I had never felt anything towards Landon. Maybe, at the beginning of our friendship, but it was only a _friendship_ and nothing more. I knew it couldn't be anything more and I figured Landon did too.

It didn't even matter anymore. I was on the other side of the state now and there was no changing that. He had ditched me as a partner and as a friend, I couldn't just forgive him like that. I moved the mouse and clicked the reply. I typed in 'Dear Landon,'.

Twenty minutes later I sat with my head in my hands. All I had down was 'Dear Landon,'. It was impossible to write what I wanted to say. I don't know if I'm over him. Well I am over him in _that_ way, but he was my best friend. It's hard to let go of something you don't have anymore.

...

I gave up writing back to Landon. It was too stressful. The only way to relieve stress, to my mother, was sitting back watching movies and eating chocolate ice cream. Lucky for me, my mom always keeps a big tub in the freezer for whenever her work gets too stressful. So now I was sitting on the couch, wearing old sweats and my a tank top with my hair in a messy bun, watching A Walk to Remember, and a silver spoon hanging out of my mouth. The ice cream helped a little, but when I realized the main characters name was Landon, I couldn't help but want to scream.

The ending credits scrolled down the screen and I was more than happy to get up and turn it off. I had finished the ice cream, I was going to have to run by the corner store and get some more tomorrow.

It was just about midnight now. I still wasn't tired. I decided to take the empty tub out to the recycling. I slipped on my mom's slippers and unlocked the door. I stepped outside and heard a loud smash. I jumped and dropped the tub down the porch steps. I stood where I was, not even breathing. I heard a husky voice talking. It sounded like it was coming from the street.

When I heard another smash I slowly walked down the steps and picked up the empty tub. I walked towards the outside of the garage. I stood against the bricks and leaned over slightly. There were four guys standing in a circle. There were three tall ones and short one. The short one was holding the bat. I tried to listen to what they were saying, but I wasn't close enough.

I leaned forward more, but retreated when I heard a car coming up the streets. I ducked around the corner and went up the porch steps. I was just about to go into the house when I saw inside the car. There were two guys. They both looked familiar. The car passed my house and stopped. I went to the corner of the house again and searched for the group of guys.

The car was stopped in front of the group. The two boys jumped out of the car, both with hoods on their heads. One of the tall boys walked up to the others. I thought about going back into the house, what if it was some drug deal or something? I was just about to leave when the tall boy said Nick. At least I thought that's what I heard.

I poked my head back around the corner and listened to their conversation. I could only hear the group of four, they were yelling and laughing. The boys who had just arrived talked softly and made it harder to hear them.

"Would you prefer to die!" The tallest boy said, shoving one of the other boys. The other boy shoved the taller one while the other three boys pulled him off of the other. They started punching and shoving harder. Then one of the four boys dug into their pockets and held something sharp in front of them, a knife. The two boys stepped backwards.

I continued to stare as the four boys started walking closer them. I dropped the tub and ran into the house. I went into the living room and dialed 911. A girl came on the phone and asked me if I wanted the Police. I said yes and was handed over to another girl. They asked me what the problem was. I didn't want to give my name or any of my information. So I just gave them my street name and said there was a group of boys fighting, some with weapons.

I wasn't sure what else to say, so I hung up. I locked the door and went into my mom's room. I pulled the curtain over and saw the two boys still retreating to the car. I bounced and watched up and down the street. There wasn't any sign of a police car.

Only moments later there was a siren.

Troy's Point of View

"Let's go, man!" One of James' friends said, trying to pull him back. "James!" He called. James glared at me then put his knife away and ran down the street. I turned to look at Nick. He was looking at me. We nodded at the same time and ran to the car. Nick started the engine and backed the car in reverse. The sirens were getting closer.

"Nick!" I said, watching James and his friends still run down the street. "Nick, get driving!"

"A little trust, Troy!" He called back. Nick backed he car into an empty driveway. He cut the engine and undid his seat belt.

"What the hell are you doing, man!" Nick just glared at me and shrugged down in his seat. I could hear the sirens getting closer.

"Just get down in you seat." Nick said, squeezing himself between the wheel and seat. I looked both ways and ducked down.

I heard the sirens fly past us and down the street towards James. My heart was pounding. I know were going to get caught. This can't work. The cops will lose James and come back to the scene. I'll be busted, again, thanks to Nick. I put my hand to my mouth, tasting something weird on my lip. Sure enough, I was bleeding.

After almost ten minutes of silence Nick propped himself up in his seat. He looked both ways down the street. He hit my arm and sat straight up, pulling on his seat belt. He started the engine and looked both ways again. I put on my seat belt and did the same. If my heart was pounding earlier I was having a heart attack now.

It was a silent drive back to my place. Nick kept his eyes on the road while my eyes wandered everywhere, expecting the police to turn up the street and start chasing us. Nick arrived on my street and stopped at the end of it. I looked around to make sure no one was up late or watching through their windows. I turned to Nick.

"Thanks for backing me up tonight." I said. I held out my fist to Nick. He looked at it then bumped it.

"Anytime man, maybe not so close next time." Nick joked. I smiled, hopefully there wont be a next time.

I opened the car door and jumped out, throwing my hood back over my head. I looked around the street then shut the car door and ran to my house. I opened the gate to the backyard and went to the side of the house. I jumped on the air conditioner and jumped to the roof that was over the kitchen dinning room. I threw my leg over top and rolled up.

I stood to my feet and went over to my bedroom window. I took out my screen and slowly slid it opened. When it was opened enough for me to climb in I put my legs threw and landed with a quiet thud. I put my screen back in and closed my window. I took off my jeans and my hoodie, leaving me with only my boxers and a white shirt, then jumped onto my bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

...

"Troy." Someone said, shaking me awake. I rolled over, throwing the covers over my head. "Troy!" My mother said more urgent. I sighed and rolled back over, keeping the covers over me. My mom tugged on them and threw them off my bed. "You need to get ready, your going to be working alone today, Gabriella still isn't feeling well."

My mother left my room. I groaned and rolled off my bed onto my feet. I put back on the jeans I wore the other night and a blue t-shirt over my white long sleeve. I grabbed a pair of socks then started down the stairs. I could hear Violet and my dad talking. When I got to the bottom of the stairs I went into the kitchen, sitting away from my father.

Our conversation last night didn't exactly go as planned. He came in, Violet went running and we hugged awkwardly. After that I went to my room only to be pulled back down by him, asking me if I had been training for basketball. I told him I had and tried to leave, but he wanted me to go outside and train more with him. I told him I had to do a summer reading list and went back upstairs.

Of course he didn't let it go. He marched up the stairs after me and started telling me how scouts will be at the games this year and I have to be on my game and blah blah blah. We had a fight and he stormed out of my room. Good to have him back.

"Would you like some toast, Troy?" My mother asked, holding out a plate. I nodded taking two. I drank all of my water and went for the door.

"I'm going to walk today, bye." I called from the door. I left in a hurry. I was only going to be an hour early, no big.

Gabriella's Point of View

"Are you sure Gab's?" My mother said. "I can stay home if you'd like." I shook my head.

"No," I said. "You better get going though, I'll be fine." My mom nodded and kissed the top of my head.

"I love you sweetie." She called, closing the door behind her.

My mom was asked to go back into work and lead the union meeting, however, that meant leaving the whole day and tomorrow she would be gone half of the day. My mom had me when she was still in collage. She and my dad were young. Somehow, even with a baby, my mom got offered a job that would start her career.

She left me with my grandmother while she work through the day, but when my grandmother died she had to stay home and take care of me. Just a couple years ago she got an offer with the union, ever since she has been running the roads every weekend and we have been moving every summer. Albuquerque is just another stop along my mother's career.

I went to sit down on the couch. I hardly got any sleep last night, stupid boys. I was up all night, curious if they were caught and in custody. Thanks to that, I was nowhere close to going into the shelter and volunteering. I was so tired and I had been getting off and on head aches. I had a plan to take one day off volunteering, then I'd be good for the rest of the summer.

I turned on the t.v and prayed for something good to be on, but my luck nothing was on. I turned it off and went to my room to get a book. I had read all of them at least once and I was just re-reading them now.

After five minutes of trying to read I was bored and put it down. I thought about replying to Landon, but I still wasn't sure what to say. I settled to watching a movie. I took my cell phone from my bag and went down stairs. I took an Advil and went to the case of movies. I searched around but the only thing that caught my mind was the 'Titanic'. I smiled at my memories and put it in the DVD player. I went back to the couch and hit play.

Jack had just been framed for stealing 'The Heart of the Ocean' and was being taken away when my phone began to vibrate on the table. I check who it was from. My stomach had butterflies when I saw Troy's name appear. I opened the message and read it quickly.

_hey im not busy right now want some company?_

I thought about it for a second. We would be all alone in the house, watching the same movie we watched when I slept over at his house. I clicked reply and told him I'd love some.

...

It was the longest five minutes of my life, but when the doorbell finally rang I jumped to my feet and ran to the door. I unlocked it and opened it wide to see Troy. He stood in the doorway. He had both hands in his jean pockets with a plastic bag around his wrist. I opened the door wider for him to come in.

"Hey." I said, smiling. He stood straighter and eyed me.

"Hi." He said simply. I closed the door behind him and watched him remove his shoes.

"What's with the bag?" I asked him. Troy looked down at his wrist.

"Oh," He said, holding it out to me. "I thought you'd like some lunch, my mom said you still weren't feeling well." I took the bag from him.

"Thanks." I said. "I actually just didn't get much sleep, you'll never believe the night I had." I shook my head and walked into the living room. I heard Troy stumbling behind me. I sat on the couch, putting the bag on the table. Troy sat on the other side of the couch, propping one of his legs up.

"Mine was pretty crazy too." He said, scratching the back of his neck. I nodded.

"Yeah, there was a group of guys outside, smashing bottles .. again. Then I went to take out recycling and another car showed up." I started saying. Troy froze how he was. His face looked like he was wandering outer space. "Then more guys got out and there was a small fight, and one of the guys pulled out a knife." I said in disbelief. Troy's head snapped to me.

"You just stood there?" He said, getting angry. "You didn't run inside and lock the door? You just _stood_ there and watched some phys-co pull out a knife to other people and not worry about getting yourself safe?" Troy's eyes were pure fire. I waited a second until he calmed down.

"Actually, I did go inside." I said, matter-of-fact. "I called the cops." Troy's head flew back onto the couch. What was going on with him today?

"At least one of us are smart." Troy said under his breath. It was so quiet I wasn't sure if he really said it.

Troy's Point of View

I had a feeling that someone was watching us, I just didn't suspect it to be Gabriella. What if she recognized me? Wait, she couldn't had, I had my hood up the whole time. Or most of the time anyways, how mych did she see? She saw us arriving and James pulling the knife at us. Did she see us parked? She said she was the one who called the police, did they go back to her place and ask her questions?

I am so sick of James taking over my life! Making me think every second over and over again until it drives me crazy! Then there's the part where he is always outside of Brie's house. Like it couldn't be at the school or even behind a store? It just had to be _her_ house?

At least she never got hurt. I'll get James to start meeting me someplace else, he's never going to even know Gabriella exists if I can help it. If she ever got hurt because of me .. I don't know what I would do with myself. I could feel my fists beginning to clench. A warm hand went over top of them.

"Hey," Gabriella's calming voice said. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you. I just ruined your perfect visit. Let's just kick back and eat this food already, why let it go to waste."

I tried to get my anger under control. I couldn't be flipping out at Gabriella or anyone else, except James. He brought this on and it was my job to get it off. Yet I had this beautiful brunette wanting to eat lunch with me and all I could think about was James? I wasn't going to let him spoil this for me. Gabriella was an amazing girl and I'd do anything to make her mine.

Even if that means fighting off James.

Gabriella took out the Styrofoam boxes and handed me one. She set hers on the table and disappeared for ten seconds, coming back with to cans of Pepsi. We sat back, eating our chicken nuggets, and watched Titanic together.

...

**Okay, I was just overwhelmed by all the reviews and favorites I had gotten. So, I decided to make an extra long chapter for you guys. You are honestly some of the best readers ever! Your reviews are what keep me writing and all you love and support. I couldn't have done any of this without you guys, thanks a tons. Love you guys and stay tuned !**

**Also, did anyone watch Degrassi's season finale? I love Eli, so weird reason, and they almost killed him. I was just about in tears. I actually hit my mom and she got mad at me. Hahaaha , funny times. Anyways I saw a promo for next season, woah. That's all I'm going to say. Thanks again guys, I'll try having the next chapter up by the end of the week.  
**


	10. Meeting the Enemy

Chapter Ten - Meeting the Enemy

Gabriella's Point of View

The movie had finished almost five minutes ago. I was now sitting on the couch watching some teen mom show with a sleeping Troy next to me. I had found him a blanket in the hall closet and was now watching his chest raise and fall slowly. Troy sleeping was like a puppy. His face was snuggled into the blanket and his face was so peaceful, it was hard to know that I had to wake him soon. He needed to get back to the shelter. Maybe I could go in with him? I wasn't very tired anymore and my headache vanished on it's own.

I stared at the t.v blankly. If I went it would give me about five minutes with Troy. Walking side by side and taking only one small touch to see what it was like to be close to Troy. We could just talk to each other and maybe take the next step that I have been avoiding.

I turned to look at Troy. He seemed so calm and looked adorable. I looked over to the clock. Troy had only ten minutes to get to the shelter. I looked back to Troy then got to my feet and ran up the stairs into my room. I looked through my closet to find my favorite pair of jeans. I pulled off my sweats and replaced them with my jeans. I then opened my dresser and got out a white tank top and found a light blue v-neck t-shirt.

I looked into my mirror and removed my elastic. I pulled my brush through my hair and let it hang off my shoulders. I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth quickly then grabbed my bag and jogged down the stairs. Only five minutes. I went into the living room and saw a sleeping Troy. I smiled then kneeled at his side. I slowly shook him.

"Troy." I whispered softly. "Troy." I said again, shaking his arm. He blinked blankly then stared at me confused.

"Brie?" He said, pulling himself into a sitting position.

"Morning sleepy." I smiled. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms. I got to my feet and put my cell phone into my bag.

"What time is it?" Troy asked, looking at his surroundings. I turned to look at the clock.

"Almost 1." Troy jumped to his feet. "We have to leave to the shelter or else we will both be late." Troy stared at me.

"I thought you were sick?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"I'm feeling better now. Plus, I could use the fresh air." _And a walk and talk with you._ I thought. Troy's dimples appeared and his eyes lit up.

"Alright then." He said, scratching the back of his neck. "Let's get going."

Troy stood where he was, waiting for me to go first. I walked down the small hallway to the door and slipped on my shoes. Troy did the same. I opened the door for him, he smiled politely and walked passed me. He hopped down the steps and walked to the street, looking both ways before turning to me. I dug into my bag and searched for my keys. I couldn't find them. I turned to look back to Troy.

"I just have to go get my keys!" I called to him. Troy nodded and stretched some more.

Troy's Point of View

I watched Gabriella run back into her house to grab her keys. I yawned and tried cracking my back. That sleep was well needed, after the night I had had. I still had troubles believing that Gabriella might have seen me and Nick. To think, if I didn't have my hood up, Gabriella would be questioning me. I probably wouldn't tell her which means she probably wouldn't talk to me.

I couldn't imagine not talking to Gabriella. She always made me cheer up right when she walked through the doors and she listened to me. Even if it was some boring speech about my life or my dad. I couldn't risk my friendship, if that's what it was, with Gabriella over something as stupid as James. I just couldn't.

I turned back to the house to see if Gabriella was coming, but the front door was still propped open. I turned back to the street and saw broken beer bottles in her neighbors driveway. I looked back to the house, to make sure Gabriella wasn't there, and went over to them.

There had to be at least fifteen smashed bottles on the road. The only name that came to mind was James. I would bet any money that this was all his doing. I shook my head and started back to Gabriella's house. I crossed her lawn and was just about to call in the house, to see if she needed help when I heard something behind me.

"Well," A far too familiar voice said behind me. "If it isn't Troy Bolton."

I clenched my fists and thought about just going into her house. I took a breath and a step forward.

"He's still a chicken, I see." James said. I felt steam coming from my ears and turned to face him.

"What the hell do you want?" I said.

James had three of his basketball friends behind him. There was a short one, he played the second line point guard for the West Jets, he use to volunteer at the animal shelter downtown. Gabriella and I had dropped off food there once, last I heard he was dating a sophomore named Amber. I couldn't help but think it was the same girl who gave me her number. The two taller guys were fraternal twins and played the first line with James, the two posts' at the bottom of the basket. They defiantly had the height for it, they pretty well towered over me.

He turned to face his friend, then to me.

"We almost got busted last night, thanks to you and your friend." James said, walking onto Gabriella's lawn.

"You know," I said, pointing to their feet. "That's considered trespassing." James looked down then smirked.

"Your trespassing too, you know." He said. "You going to burn down another house?" James' his friends started laughing, but James stood locking eyes with mine.

I couldn't do it anymore, that just pushed the fiery through me. I took a step forward, my fist ready to make contact with his face. His friends stopped laughing and changed glances between us. I could feel the fire raising from my skin. The only thing I could think out at the moment was going up to him and seeing who would win the fight. I tried to think about something else .. but I couldn't.

I shook my head and cleared it of my thoughts. I felt the fire on my body go out and my fist started to unclench themselves. I turned to walk back into Gabriella's house.

"I knew he didn't have it in him." James said, I could feel his eyes still on me. I turned back to him.

"You should leave." I said. "Now."

"Sorry I took so long I was .. " A voice said behind me. I felt my heart stop and my eyes bulge open. James couldn't know who Gabriella was. If he knew about her he could hurt me through her, she would be the one he'd go after. James turned to his friends, a smirk forming on his face. He started to walk towards the porch steps. "Who's this?" Gabriella asked.

I didn't turn to face her. I kept my eyes on James. His friends stood where they were .. smart choice. James glanced at me then smiled to Gabriella, walking towards her. I stepped in his path, right in between Gabriella and him. James' eyes met mine.

"Troy, what's going on?" Gabriella asked, putting her hand on my shoulder. I didn't break eye contact with James.

"Nothing, we have to get going." I said. James looked to Gabriella.

Gabriella's Point of View

The boy standing in front of Troy looked strangely familiar, as if I had seen him in a dream or something. I felt Troy's shoulder tense under my hand. The boy put his hand out to mine, the one on Troy's shoulder.

"I'm James." The boy smirked. I gave a shy smile, touching my hand to his. I'd heard Troy and Chad talking about a guy named James when I stayed the night at Troy's. I wonder if it's the same guy?

"Gabri-" I started, but Troy cut me off.

"We have to go." Troy said, taking my hand. He turned to look at me, not meeting my eyes. "Did you lock the door?" He asked. I nodded. Troy turned away from me back to the boy, James. He looked to Troy then to me, smiling.

"We better get going too." He said, looking behind him at three boys. They all looked so familiar.

James smirked at Troy and then walked onto the street, the three boys trailing after him. Troy didn't face me. He still had my hand in his. His hand was sweating, it was a little uncomfortable. Troy didn't turn to face me until James and his friends were out of sight. His eyes were full of worry and his face looked a little more red then usual.

"Is everything alright?" I asked him. He nodded bitterly.

"Yeah," He said, coldly. "Let's go, were already late."

I nodded slowly and threw my bag over my shoulder. I didn't know everything there was to know about Troy, but I did know that whatever was going on between James and him he clearly didn't want to tell me about it. I debated to just ask him but I figured that if I pushed myself on him, he wouldn't open up to me any faster.

We started to walk down my street. The other boys were out of sight, but that didn't stop Troy from glancing over his shoulder every few moments. I was more than determined to know what was happening between the two boys, but if Troy wanted to tell me he would just tell me when he is ready. We came to the end of my street.

Troy glanced over his shoulder once again. His eyes were fierce with fire. I'd never seen Troy look so angry. He stuffed his hand into his pockets and kept his distance from me. He was never a meter close to me, he was practically walking on the road. Troy looked down to the side walk and looked everywhere but to me. Before we turned off my street, I glanced back over to where Troy had been glaring at.

James and his friends were standing on the road, forming a small circle. They all were staring at Troy and myself. James put his hand up and waved to me. I smiled, then looked to Troy. He was glaring at James. My street was now out of sight, but that still didn't stop Troy from looking behind us every two seconds. His behavior was starting to scare me a little. I had never seen him so .. worried? I wasn't really sure what he was, but I was sure that he wasn't one to talk about it.

We came to the set of lights before the shelter. The little red hand was blinking, normally, if I were running late, I would just hold my breath and run as fast as I could. Troy though didn't seem like he was in any mood to be running. I pushed the button and looked over to Troy. He still didn't look at me. What if he was angry with me, not James?

I felt my stomach start to tighten. Why was Troy mad at me? Did I do something wrong, say something? I wrapped my arms around my torso. Why else would he not be looking at me or even talking to me. I looked back at the street lights. The other light had just turned yellow. I repositioned my bag on my shoulder. Finally the white walking man showed across the street. I looked over to Troy, he had already started walking. I sighed softly and walked behind him.

When Troy reached the other side of the street I expected him to stop, but he continued to walk. For the rest of the walk back to the shelter I stayed behind him, watching each step he took. His shoulders were more hunched then they normally were and his steps were longer, quickening his pace.

Once we got to the shelter, Troy, opened the front door for me but still didn't look directly at me. I walked through the doors, not even glancing at him. Nicole was sitting at the front desk, staring at me. I shrugged my shoulders and looked back to Troy. We looked right through me, as if I wasn't even there, then walked down the hallway. I looked to Nicole and sank onto the couch.

Troy's Point of View

I burst into the kitchen, hoping that Nick would be there. I heard something from the freezer. There was a pop can squeezed in between the freezer door and the wall. I went to open it. Nick was standing inside putting away the dog meat that is was used for their training. He was listening to his head phones. I walked up behind him and hit his arm slightly. He jumped and pulled his earphones out of his ears.

"What the hell, man?" Nick said, catching his breath. "Didn't mommy ever tell you to knock first?"

"Look, James knows where she lives." I said angry. What if James goes and tries something? He's a phys-co, there's no telling what he'll do.

"Where who lives?" Nick said, laughing. My fists started to clench. I stepped towards Nick, pushing him into the freezers wall. Nick regained his balance. "I was just kidding, dude."

"Did you not hear me!" I shouted. Why wasn't he listening to me? Gabriella doesn't know how dangerous James is and now he knows where she lives! How was I suppose to not be angry! Nick wasn't even listening to what I was saying. "James knows where Gabriella lives!"

"Woah." Nick said, walking out of the freezer. I followed him. "That's a huge crisis." Nick turned to me, smiling. "Look man, it's not like you two are dating or together or anything, your just friends. James has know reason to be anywhere near her." I could feel my entire body tense.

"You didn't see the way James was looking at her." James never broke eye contact with her, unless he was going to smirk at me. I tried to keep my distance from Brie, but I don't think I fooled James at all.

"Troy, calm down. Why would James even talk to Gabriella?" Nick said. "He only saw her once. Plus, Gabriella is smart, she wont go near James. Give her more credit."

"I know Gabriella's smart, but it's not her that I'm worried about. It's James, you said so yourself, he's phys-co!"

"Troy, seriously, would you just stop for a second." Nick said.

"Stop until when?" I shouted, hitting the counter. "Until James hits _her_ with a bat? Until he pulls a knife on her? Until he decides screwing up my life isn't _fun_ anymore?" I kicked one of the racks and walked over to the wall.

"Why don't you just tell Gabriella about .. everything." Nick suggested. "That way you wont be holding a secret and she will know who James really is." I looked up to him. He was sitting on the island.

"Yeah, I could just tell her everything .. about the fire station and about the car." I said. "That wouldn't lose anything we have."

"Sorry, bad idea." Nick said, trying to defend himself. "You know though, neither of those were your fault."

"Yeah, just like winning the championships wasn't my fault either." I said.

"Look, Troy, they weren't your fault and if it makes you happy I'll .. talk to Gabriella. Drop hints about James and not mention anything about you." Nick said. I thought about it. It would give a chance for Gabriella to know who James really is and hopefully help her to keep her distance. Nick held out his hand. "We good?" He asked. I took his hand and we did our handshake. I nodded.

"Yeah," I said, releasing a huge amount of stress. "Were good."

...

**Hey guys! Thanks for everyone's reviews, they were all amazing and they meant so much. So, I just wrote this chapter pretty much all today. It was quiet around the house and I just got bored. This chapter is actually a pretty huge chapter for the story, that's all I'm going to say. I'm trying to get back on track with updating, I'm not doing terrible, but I'm not doing my best. The next few chapters _might_ be a little dull, but your just going to have to read and find out! I am working on the next chapter right now. It should be finished sometime tomorrow and then there's the editing and publishing. So, the next chapter might be Tuesday? Not completely sure yet, it might be tomorrow and it might be Wednesday, anyways I'll try my hardest and stay tuned!**

**:)  
**


	11. I'll Do Anything

Chapter Eleven - I'll Do Anything

Gabriella's Point of View

"I recognize the name, James, but I can't really remember him." Nicole said.

After Troy went down the hallway Nicole was concerned. She said that she and Troy had known each other since she had first started working at the shelter. I had told Nicole about Troy's surprise visit and then meeting James and the awkward walk back. Nicole wasn't sure what was happening with Troy. She hadn't seen him in months, only the odd time he would stop by to see Orion, his favorite dog he helped train. Nicole tried to comfort me and she told me that whatever was bothering Troy probably had nothing to do with me. A part of me just said to believe Nicole, she had given me great advice before, but another part of me said that whatever Troy was hiding had the faintest thing to do with me.

"He had dark hair?" I said, trying to remember what James had looked like. Nicole sat back on the couch, shaking her head.

"No," She said. "I don't think I even met a James with dark hair."

"He was tall, had three guys behind him?" I was desperate.

Troy was either sad or mad or worried about something that had to deal with James. Whatever it was I was determined to know. Troy might not tell me anything, but maybe James could tell me something? The only thing was was that I would have to run into him again and I barely even remembered what he looked like. The phone started ringing on the desk, Nicole jumped up to answer it. I got up too, walking down the hallway and into the spare office.

I threw my bag next to the desk and slumped onto the chair. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I heard something being banged around in the room beside the office. I opened my eyes and tried to listen. There were two hums on the other side of the wall. Then the office door flew opened. It was Nicole.

"Robyn is coming back today." She said, handing me a folder. "Where's Troy?" I shrugged.

"I hadn't seen him since we came back." I said. "What's the folder for?"

"Oh, it's just some extra food she was hoping you and Troy could drop off." I nodded. "I'm going to find Troy, alright?" Nicole started out the office and bumped into another familiar face. His name was ..

"Nick!" Nicole said. "Have you seen Troy around?" Nick shrugged his shoulder and looked over to me. "You haven't seen him since he got back from his break?" Nicole asked. Nick shook his head.

"No, not since he left." Nick said, looking back to me. Nicole threw her hands in the air.

"Unbelievable!" She said. "This order needs to be finished before Robyn gets back." Nick started laughing.

"Oh, come on Nikki, I'm sure Robyn will understand. Why don't you go look for Troy?" He said. Nicole eyed him.

"It's Nicole, Nick." She said sternly. "You know what? You can fill the order with Gabriella." Nicole said, giving Nick a set of keys. Nick stared at Nicole then to me.

"Your joking, right?" He asked. Nicole shook her head, walking down the hallway. "Nikki, come on!" Nicole didn't answer him.

Nick stood in the doorway. He looked down the hallway and then to me. He slowly walked into the office and stood in front of the desk.

"Gabriella, right?" He asked. I got to my feet and nodded.

"Yeah." I smiled.

"I think we have met before." Nick said, smiling.

"Uh, yeah." I said, shyly. "Outside at the picnic table." I looked down at the paper Nicole handed me. "We should get going." I said. Nick nodded.

I grabbed my bag and walked past Nick down the hallway. I heard him slowly following behind me. Nicole was on the phone at the desk. I saw her smirk to Nick. I ignored both of them and walked out into the parking lot, waiting for Nick to catch up.

Troy's Point of View

I sat on the counter in the kitchen, still thinking about James and Gabriella. It was hard to believe that a human could be so heartless. The ugly smirk that he gave me while looking at Gabriella. There was a strange twinkle in his eye that made me want to puke up blood. Just the way he waved to her and how he smiled to her.

I decided I needed to get my mind off of James. I had trust in Nick that he would talk to Gabriella and make sure she stayed away from James. Nick had been a good friend since we both started volunteering and I had trust in him. I jumped off the counter and slowly cracked open the kitchen door. Nicole wasn't at the front desk, probably putting papers in the mail room. I ran from the kitchen and out the back door.

I jogged across the field to the kennel. I opened the door slowly and went to Orion's cage. He was laying on his front paws. I opened his cage and scratched behind his ear. His tail started to move, but he didn't. I got his leash and watched him slowly get to his feet. He didn't seem happy today. I attached the least to his collar and pulled him out of the kennel.

We ran into the small clearing that led us to the pond. I unhooked the leash from Orion and sat on the bench. If one of the worker were to come through the clearing they would yell at me for not having his leash on. Orion jumped on the bench and laid his head in my lap. I scratched behind his ear and watched the small fish swim in the pond.

"Everything alright bud?" I asked Orion. He lifted his big head at barked once. I scratched behind his ear. "Wish I could say the same." I said, looking back to the small pond. "Dad still hasn't come home yet. He called last night and talk to Violet. He wanted to talk to me but I told my mom I didn't want to. Mom said he should be coming home in a few days, but that's what he said the day before. I don't mind the few days more, but Vi still seems upset that he would leave. I wish he would just sit down and talk to her. He doesn't realize how much he's hurting her."

"Your father does understand," A soft voice said behind me. Orion lifted his head. "But he has a job, Troy." My mom walked over to sit next to Orion. She rubbed his belly. Orion turned onto his back, letting my mom continue. I straightened in my seat, I didn't mean for my mom to hear any of that.

"Did you feed him?" She asked, looking at the fish. I shook my head.

"Not yet." I said.

"Don't you think you should?" She said.

"Don't you think you should have dad at least talk to his daughter." I said, getting frustrated. "You must see it too, mom." I could tell what I had said upset my mom, but I wasn't the only one who noticed that my father didn't pay attention to his only daughter.

"Troy." My mom nearly whispered. She looked up at me, her eyes watering. "Your father is trying." A tear slipped from her eye.

"Not hard enough, mom." I said, not thinking. I could tell my mom was very upset and me continue to talk about my father only made it worse. I got to my feet and looked to Orion. Orion lifted his head, licking my mother's cheek, and jumped off the bench. He followed me through the clearing and I attached his leash.

I put my hands in my pockets. If I had stayed with my mom I would have only made things worse. I just needed time to cool down. My father hadn't been home since the day he and my mom grounded me. He was suppose to be back today, from his business trip, but a great opportunity came up and it was hard for him to refuse. I never knew why my father started taking longer trips during the summer and the early fall. I would always spend the night up wondering if it was because of me.

After Violet turned three I forgot about what he did, I didn't care anymore. Violet would come into my room at night saying how she couldn't sleep and that she was scared dad wasn't coming home. I would tuck her back into bed and hear my mom crying behind a closed door. I never knew if my mom heard me behind that door, only that each time he didn't come home, her sobs became louder. Each night it was harder to listen. My father didn't seem concerned that he was hurting his family.

He was never like this until Violet turned one. I would never blame Violet for my father's disappearance, but for the last four years I had to put up with him abandoning his family. It's not something that other fathers would do, it was the complete opposite.

Gabriella's Point of View

"I think you missed the turn." I said, looking back at the map Nicole had printed off.

"No," Nick said, slowing the car at the lights. "I know a faster way." I put the paper down and looked out the window.

"So," I said. "How long have you and Troy been friends for?" Nick slowly stepped on the gas peddle.

"Uh, a while." He said. I nodded. That's all he's going to tell me? So much for learning more about Troy. "Troy said that your going to East High in the fall." Nick stated. I just nodded.

"Yeah." I said. "Are you going there?" I asked. Nick shook his head.

"No, I go to school outside of the city." He said. "I just come here for the summer to visit."

"Oh, so you have a cottage or something around here?" I asked.

"Uh," Nick started. Compared to Troy, Nick, was much easier to read and I could sense his discomfort. "Not exactly. My mom lives here and I visit her every summer."

"So you live with your father during the school year?" I asked, curious.

"No." He said. "My dad .. isn't .. talking to me anymore and my mom .. well .. there are reason why I don't live with her during the school year."

"Then who do you live with during the school year?"

"My aunt and her boyfriend." Nick said, turning a left on the downtown shelters street. "She's the only family I have left."

Nick didn't speak while we pulled into the shelters parking lot. I didn't even want to breathe the air, it was full of awkwardness. I think Nick was just unsure of why he told me his life story and although he didn't tell me what happened with his parents, it was obvious he wasn't in the mood to talk about it. Plus, it was none of my business.

Nick and I jumped out of the car and started to unload the trunk. He was much stronger than I was and carried all the larger boxes and bags. I took as much as I could in my small arms and held my breath as I carried it through the doors. Nick helped me put them down in the back kitchen. I went back to the car while Nick started to put the food away. I picked up the remaining three bags of bird food and closed the trunk, walking back into the building.

As I opened the kitchen door I saw a all too familiar face. Amber was it? She was on her tippy toes, her shirt lifting to see her stomach, struggling to put a box on the top shelf. Nick went behind her and took the box from her hands. She turned around, her hands finding his chest, and a loud giggle escaping her lips. Nick pulled back and started to finish unpacking the box. I could see Amber's face turn to disappointment, not that I really cared. The last time I had stopped by this shelter she was all over Troy. Then Troy kissed my cheek and wrapped his arm around me ..

"Gabriella!" Nick said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I asked. Nick was standing a couple feet away from me, his hand extended towards me.

"Do you want me to take those bags?" He asked. I nodded slowly and gave them to him. He brought them over to Amber. He handed them to her. Amber smiled and put them behind her, looking back to Nick.

"Thanks for helping a girl out." She said, her hands running behind Nick's neck. I swallowed my vomit.

"Your welcome." Nick said, pulling away from her. I felt a smile playing on my lips, it was amusing how she seemed to hit on every guy. "See you later." Nick said, turning back to me.

"Come back anytime." Amber said. "Oh, Gabe is it?" She said, looking at me.

"Gabriella." I said. She crossed her arms.

"How's Troy doing?" She asked. I smiled.

"He's doing great, I'll tell him you said hi." I said. I turned around and walked out of the kitchen. Amber deserved that one.

Troy's Point of View

I walked into the main building. I had just come from putting Orion away and figured it was time to face Nicole. I knew I would find her sitting at the front desk, probably talking to Chase. They had been together for a few years, I think, and now I was just waiting for the wedding. All I knew about Chase was that his parents had money. Lots of it. I also knew that Nicole really cared for him and she would flip if he did something to upset her.

I pushed open the front doors and watched Nicole's head snap up. I stuffed my hands into my pockets and walked up to her. I didn't see any sign of anger on her face. Something had to be wrong. Nicole was always angry at Nick and I, she didn't appreciate babysitting. She always thought of us as kids, which was true, when she first met us. I don't think she hates us, she just doesn't like the nicknames, pranks, and sarcastic remarks Nick and I gave her. We only did it to annoy her and we defiantly exceeded in that.

"What Troy?" She asked, not sounding mad. I was a little shocked by this.

"I don't even get a hello?" I joked. Nicole lifted her head.

"Hello Troy," She said, no sign of anger. "Where were you? You missed a drop off."

"Outside, walking around." I said. "Sorry I missed it. I'll just wait for the next one."

"No, Troy, you wont." Nicole said, getting up from her desk. "As of now your taking over Nick's job and Nick will be taking yours."

Woah. Nick's job was pretty easy. You went around feeding the birds, cats, dogs, bunnies, and then the fish. It was one of the easier jobs at the shelter. It didn't involve paper work or meetings, something my mom had been doing for years. I think it would be pretty cool. I could see Orion twice a day and I would get to see Pancakes, a bunny Violet named.

"I don't mind that." I said, leaning against the desk while Nicole went over to the filing cabinet. "Although, I don't think Brie will be too fond of that idea, she's not really a dog person." I said. Nicole closed the cabinet and went back to her desk.

"It wont matter what _Brie_ thinks of the idea, she'll be working with Nick."

_She'll be working with Nick._ _She'll be working with Nick_. No, Brie and I were partners. You can't split up partners. No, Brie was more than a partner to me, she was a friend. I wouldn't leave my friend hanging and I wouldn't want Nick spending more time with her then me. I hardly even spent time with her. How would I be able to know her better and be able to know she's safe. How could I know that she will stay away from James when I'm not around her. Nick would keep an eye on her, but I don't want Nick to be watching her everyday. I want to be the one watching her everyday. I want to watch her flip her hair on one shoulder when she gets nervous. I want to hear her laugh everyday.

I wouldn't even be able to see her on my break. Her break starts when mine would end. Why would Nicole do this to me? She knows how I feel about Brie and how I feel for her safety. Even if she didn't know the reason why I wanted her safe, Nicole would still keep me around her. In case something ever happened.

"Nicole, you have to be kidding. Isn't there another way I could make up for this?" I urged. "I don't care what it is, as long as I can keep my job and still be allowed to work in the office with Brie."

"Right, I'm sorry, instead of helping to finish paper work and documents to allow a animal to be adopted, you want me to sacrifice one so you can get it on with your little girlfriend? Troy, no, this is strictly business. I have nothing against Gabriella, but you need to grow up."

"Would you please give me another chance, Nicole." I said. "I'll do anything." Nicole raised an eyebrow.

"Anything?" She asked. I nodded.

"Name your price." I knew I was going to regret this later.

...

**Alright, so I'm sorry that this wasn't up earlier but my computer is being very slow and stupid and it took almost an hour to open the internet. I am also sorry if there are any spelling mistakes, this thing was taking forever with the spell check that I just skipped it. Anyways, thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing this story, it means a lot. It's so sad that school is starting in a week! I will still try my hardest to keep my updates weekly, but if my computer continues to be this slow I might need an extra day to post. Hopefully the next chapter will be up by Friday or Saturday. As always, stay tuned ! **


	12. Adopt a Puppy  Part 1

Chapter Twelve

Adopt a Puppy - Part 1

Gabriella's Point of View

"I'm just saying that, maybe you shouldn't talk to him." Nick said.

Nick and myself were just about at the shelter. He was telling me that James was a guy who I shouldn't be hanging out with. Nick told me that James had been in after school detention, almost every week, and that he was considered one of the bad kids. I really did appreciate that Nick would tell me this, but I hardly even knew James and I was pretty sure I could figure him out for myself.

Nick slowly pulled the car up to the shelters parking lot. I grabbed my bag off the ground and turned to Nick.

"Thanks for your truly inspiring speech about this .. James, but I can figure him out myself." I smiled to him. "I'll see you later." I opened my door.

"Gabriella." Nick said. I turned to face him. "Please, just remember what I said. He might come off a little different at first .. and when you get to know him, it might be a little late." I bit my bottom lip.

"I'll keep that in mind, bye Nick." I closed the door and went into the shelter.

Why was Nick acting like this? I hadn't really talked to Nick until today, but when I first met him he didn't come across like this. It was almost like he was the complete opposite. It surprised me. I opened the main door and didn't see Nicole. I walked up to the front desk and looked around. I didn't see her anywhere.

I decided to ignore it and just go back into the office. I put my bag down and went to sit at the desk. I put my head on my arms and closed my eyes. I shouldn't have come back today. I could feel my head pounding. I needed a nap or an Advil. The office door flew opened. I lifted my head and opened my eyes to see an African American man standing in the doorway with a stack of papers in his arms.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He said, a warm smile crossing his face. "I thought all the volunteers were out back." Oh, maybe that's where Nicole and Troy and Nick were. "I'm Dean Charles, I work with the adoption service." He extended his hand. I stood up and shook it.

"I'm Gabriella Montez, I'm a volunteer." Dean smiled, then released my hand.

"Don't mind me, I'm just going to photocopy some papers." He said.

"It's fine, I'm just going to go for a walk." I picked up my bag and walked out of the room. The photocopier was aged and it was the loudest thing I had ever heard. It wouldn't help my head ache. I just needed a quiet place to lay down.

I walked down the small hallway and went out the front doors. I decided to take the long because I didn't want to talk to anyone and from what Dean had just told me, everyone was outback. I slowly turned the corner of the building and saw all the volunteers and some staff that I had seen around. Among the crowd I saw Nick and Troy, off to the side, having a serious looking conversation. My head began to throb. I put my hand to my temples and prayed for it to stop.

There were dogs next to the crowd, all barking. I looked around for someplace I could just lay down. Then I remembered the small pond Troy had showed me. I looked back to the crowd and walked quickly across the field, not wanting to be seen.

I made it to the clearing unnoticed and placed my bag on the bench. I laid down, my head on my bag, and closed my eyes.

Troy's Point of View

"I tried, man." Nick said. "She said she could make the decision for herself." I crossed my arms over my chest.

Who was Gabriella trying to fool? James was bad news, period. It she went up to him and asked to be friends James, more than likely, would play around with her and everything would go downhill for her. Once you talk to James your either dead or dead, there isn't a way around it. I've seen people being pulled into James' little tricks and I've tried my hardest to stay away from them. Everyone at East High knows how messed James is, but yet some still want to be his friend and prove everyone wrong. Just like what Gabriella was trying to do.

"Where did she go?" I asked. Nick shrugged his shoulders.

"Last I saw her she went inside." I nodded and started to walk away from the group.

Today was the shelter's 'Adopt a Puppy' day. It was a day where everyone came down to the shelter and their kids could watch how we train them, feed them, bath them, etc. The kids also got to help and at the end of the day they could adopt a puppy and get it's first two shots at the shelter for free. The volunteers and staff were responsible to set up and take down, but they could survive without me.

I walked into the building and opened the office door. It was empty. I slammed the door and went up to the front desk. She wasn't in the waiting room. I went up and down the hallway, checking each room. I looked in the pet care rooms, staff's offices and she wasn't to be seen. I went to sit in a chair in the waiting room. I rubbed my temples and thought about where she might have gone.

_Idiot! _I thought to myself. She has disappeared like this before and I found her at the clearing, who's to say she wouldn't go there again?

I jumped to my feet and went out the main doors, turning the building's corner, I ran to the clearing. I pushed the branched out of my way and finally saw the clear water and a wooden bench. Gabriella was laying on the bench, her hands folded under her cheek and small breaths escaping her lips. I walked up beside her and sat on the grass.

I just sat silently and watched, someone who seemed to mean the world to me, sleep thoughtfully.

...

**PLEASE READ!**

**First thing, I'm very sorry for the late update and short chapter. It's been over a week and I feel terrible. My sister's knee turned out to be worse than expected and she had to under go sugary a week ago. She has just started walking now and I've been trying my best to help out as much as I can, but between helping her, going to school, doing homework, and helping her some more, I can't find much time to write these days. I will still be writing, but it wont be posted until the weekends. I'm very sorry to everyone. **

**Second thing, you guys are absolutely amazing! I can't believe that after all this time and all the crap I've put you guys through your still very supportive and understanding! I have tones of ideas for future chapters, now it's just a matter of what to use. I really hope you guys understand and that you don't give up on me yet. It should get more exciting in the next few chapters, leading up to the climax! Very exciting. So, the next chapter will be up sometime next week or weekend. Thanks once again, I'd love to hear what you guys thought. Stay tuned!  
**


	13. Adopt a Puppy  Part 2

Chapter 13

Adopt a Puppy - Part 2

Gabriella's Point of View

It was very strange dreaming when you knew you were asleep, yet those terrifying nightmares still scared you. For example, right now. I know I am asleep and I know when I open my eyes it will all vanish. Sad thing, when your sleeping you don't know how to open your eyes before the monster in the closet comes at you. In my case though, I couldn't run fast enough.

_I pushed my feet forward, but not fast enough. I still couldn't reach him. I pushed past the trees and branches and watched the forest around me in a blur. Tears stung my eyes, but I knew I couldn't give up. I continued to run as fast as I could. I had a cramp in my rib, but I wouldn't let a little pain stop me. My feet pulled my body along. I jumped over logs and puddles then, out of nowhere, I was slowing to a stop. I started to panic. I was so close, yet so far away. I held my hand to my rib, as if it would stop the pain of my aching heart. I wiped my eyes and clenched my teeth. I was going to make it. I looked at the watch on my wrist. Only two minutes. _

_The trees around me started to blur again. I jumped over the logs and I pushed threw the branches. I looked back at my watch. Only twenty three seconds. How could that be? It was only two minutes two seconds ago! This couldn't be happening. _

Even though you know your dreaming, you still get scared. That was my case. I figured in the end I would make it anyways, it was _my_ dream. Yet, it still didn't stop me from worrying.

_I could hear beeping. Counting down from five. Only five seconds. I knew I had to make it count. My feet pushed themselves forward. It felt like I was flying. I ran threw a puddle, soaking my leg. I didn't care. I was going to lose him. The only person who knew the real me. The only one who I could count on for anything. He was my world._

_I felt a smile cross my face as I reached the end of the forest. I pushed threw the leaves and branches and saw Troy with his back to me. His head was cocked to the side and his arms where in front of him. I started to run up to him. Tears of joy streaming down my face. I was here. Staring at the man I loved and who loved me. We were going to be together forever. Our own little fairy tale. It was every girls' dream to find someone who was cared as much for you as you cared for them. Your own Prince Charming. My own Prince Charming was standing only steps away from me. _

_I went to put my hand on his shoulder as I heard a small moan. It wasn't mine and it was too high pitched to be Troy's. Then the was another. A hand tangled itself in Troy's hair and a leg wrapped around his waist. Then I saw the face of the devil. She had fake blond hair and too much make-up on her face. My wonderful dream which had turned to a nightmare, then a fairy tale, and back to a nightmare only got worse._

_Troy's lips trailed down her cheek bone, to her neck, and back to her lips. Then there was a another moan, this time, from Troy. The girls' hands trailed up his shirt and she had it around his neck._

_"Amber .. " Troy whispered. _

_I felt my heart pounding in my chest. I sank to the ground. That should be my name he is whispering. That should be me he is kissing. That should be me! I brought my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. Tears flowed threw me. They weren't tears of joy or happiness. They were tears of sadness, anger .. betrayal. I lifted my head back up and saw Amber staring at me. She wore an evil smile. Troy kissed her chin while her eyes burned into mine. _

_The ground beneath me started to shake. Amber and Troy didn't seem to notice. The shaking stopped, only to start again. There was a sound in the distance. I got to my feet, but fell as the shaking continued. The voice in the distance sounded like Troy, but he was still kissing Amber. Then the trees around me started to disappear. The clouds faded and the sky turned black. Everything was gone except Troy, Amber, and myself. Then Amber disappeared. Followed by Troy. I was alone in the darkness. I fell to my feet and curled into a ball. I closed my eyes and wished for the shaking to stop. For this nightmare to stop._

Troy's Point of View

"Gabriella!" I said again, shaking her arm lightly.

Her eyes fluttered opened. She jumped back a little when she saw me. She rubbed her eyes and looked around her. Then, her eyes fell on me.

"Are you alright?" I asked her. She only stared at me. "You were rocking in your sleep and you were crying. Sorry I waked you."

Gabriella continued to stare at me. She looked hurt and angry. I brushed away the tears that lingered on her cheeks. She flinched once then her eyes started to close. Her face went smooth. Unreadable.

"I had a bad dream." She whispered. "I tried to wake up, but .. everything started shaking." Her eyes opened and she looked into mine, not saying anything. I saw right into her mind. She seemed scared. I put my arm around her shoulders.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

Her head fell on my shoulder. She shook her head. I nodded and leaned back against the bench. Gabriella's breathing slowed. I sat and watched the small fish swim around by himself, only thinking of one thing. How lucky I was to have Gabriella so close to me. I could smell her scent in the air. I could smell her strawberry shampoo. I had everything I needed right here. I could live through life by sitting where I was with the girl in my arms. Just Gabriella and me.

...

"Nick, your going to be with Beth and help her with the dog show." My mom called out. "Dean .. can you help with the face painting?" Mr. Charles nodded then walked over to the face painting table. "Troy and Gabriella .. could you do the stamp?"

"Sure." Gabriella said.

"Alright, you two can follow me." My mom said. Gabriella jumped to her feet and followed my mom.

She led us around the building and into the parking lot. There was a table with two chairs, inked stamps, and balloons. Gabriella sat down in one of the chairs while I sat next to next. My mother picked up one of the stamps and held it in front of her.

"All you have to do is stamp their hands and give the children a balloon." She said, stamping her hand. We nodded. "Good, if there are any problems just come find me out back, alright?"

"I'm sure we can handle giving kids balloons, mom." I said. She smiled at me then walked away.

This was perfect. After an hour or so Gabriella and I would just be sitting and talking. No one really shows up after an hour. It would be the perfect time to see how Gabriella feels about me and to make sure she is clear on James, but finding out what her feelings are are more important.

Gabriella's Point of View

Just Troy and I for an entire afternoon .. I could live with that. I could figure out more about him and more about how he feels. I knew my feelings and I'm going to trust myself. I really want to know if our relationship could go farther. I would risk my heart and trust Troy with it. The hardest part would be telling him how I feel. I would feel like an idiot if Troy completely shut me out and said that he didn't feel the same way. I was almost positive he did, but then again, I didn't have much experience reading guys.

Troy turned in his seat to face me. He smiled then put his hands behind his head and leaned back. I smiled back then leaned backwards on my chair. The sun was beating down lightly and there was a small wind, allowing me to smell Troy's scent.

"This should be a fun time." Troy said. I looked at him.

"Hopefully." I smiled.

...

It was almost a half hour into the 'Adopt a Puppy' day at the shelter and it there were still cars pulling into the parking lot. It was just about filled and soon the guests would have to park on the road. Troy and I had come up with a perfect solution. I would stamp their hands while Troy handed the kids a balloon. The process helped to move to the next person in line faster. The guests were mostly younger kids with their parents. All the kids were jumping up and down before, all excited to see the different puppies that were up for adoption.

Troy had told me that only four of the fifty guests actually adopt the puppies each year. Four years ago there was a increase of puppies at the shelter and Lucille, Troy's mother, decided to hold a special day where puppies could be adopted and there could be two free shots. The first year almost ten puppies were adopted. The second year only six. The numbers kept decreasing over the years and now not even a quarter of the city showed up, but that didn't stop Lucille from giving up hope. She still held this event every year and never lost enthusiasm that more puppies would be adopted and have a family. Troy, on the other hand, admitted that he gave up hope after the second year.

For me, I was inspired that Lucille continued this event. She didn't give up and, from the look of it, she didn't plan on doing so.

"Have a good time." Troy said to the small family.

There weren't anymore people in line for the event. It was the first real break that we got since twenty minutes ago.

"Well that was fun." Troy smirked, turning to face me.

"Joy." I smiled.

Troy's Point of View

What was with Gabriella and her beautiful smile? Somehow she always managed to make me want to fall backwards. Thank God I'm sitting. My heart wouldn't slow down. I crossed my arms over my chest, hoping that would stop it. Gabriella's face was still lit into a sparkling smile. I had to lean back in my chair.

"Do you want anything to eat or drink?" Gabriella asked, getting to her feet.

"I'll have a water, please and thank-you." Gabriella smiled then walked off into the building.

"I take it you haven't told her yet?" I heard from behind me. I turned and saw Nick.

"I don't know what your talking about." I said, turning my back to him.

Nick walked over to the front of the table. He must have been on break or finished up the second show. Nick had his disappointed face on, probably because I didn't answer his question. I don't even know why he'd ask, he should no the obvious answer.

"Don't play stupid," He said. "Why didn't you tell her?"

"Maybe because she doesn't need to know." I said, looking back to the building. "Nick, she's going to be back any minute."

"Well in a minute, you can tell Gabriella how you really feel." Nick said.

"Feel about what?" A voice said from behind me.

Nick looked up and stood straight. His fake smile flashed across his lips. I just sat where I was. I knew that voice far too well. I've heard it almost every second of every day always telling me to do my homework. She walked around the table to stand next to Nick.

"Are you finally telling Gabriella how you feel?" My mom said. I looked at Nick in disbelief. My mom saw me glaring at him. "Hey, don't blame Nick. He didn't tell me anything, it's pretty obvious." She smiled.

"What's so obvious?" Another voice said behind me. I threw my head down on the table.

"Troy's little crush." I heard my mom say.

"Oh, Gabriella?" Nicole said. I took a breath then jumped to my feet. Everyone stared at me.

"I don't like Gabriella!" I shouted. "I didn't like her when we first met, I didn't like her when she stayed at our house, and I didn't like her then and I don't like her now! Whatever you guys think you know is wrong! So you can stop making sarcastic remarks now! Okay?" I said.

Everyone was looking at me. I shook my head and sat back down, but their eyes didn't follow me. Everyone was starring _behind_ me. I turned in my chair and saw Gabriella standing with two water bottles. She was looking at the ground. I got to my feet.

"Gabriella .. " I whispered. She looked up, not looking at me fully.

"Here's your water." She said, her voice cracking. She turned and walked back inside. She heard what I had said. I didn't even mean any of it. I only said it so everyone would get off my back! I started after her, but something caught my arm. It was Nick.

"Just let her cool down." He said.

I watched as the door closed behind the girl I might love.

...

**Hey everyone, hoped you liked he chapter. Sorry it was a little shorter, again, but I'm still dealing with family issues and school. Also, thank you to everyone for understanding the later updates and everything. I'm also sorry that the chapters aren't very .. good. Something big is in the works and I'm starting to get very excited. I will be working on the next chapter through the week so it should be up next weekend. Once again .. sorry for the late updates and stay tuned!**


	14. Running From Love  Part 1

Chapter Fourteen

Running From Love - Part 1

*Two Weeks Later*

Gabriella's Point of View

Today was suppose to be the day. I was suppose to show up at the shelter and wish Troy a happy birthday. Everyone at the shelter was suppose to be jumping out from behind the front desk in an hour. Nicole and Troy's mother called me a week ago. They asked me if I would still like to come. I told them I would have to call them back, but I was laying on my bed with the phone in my hand. I still haven't called either of them.

I quite working at the shelter. Lucille had told me if I ever wanted to return just call her. I was tempted more than once to call her, but I could always earn my hours another way. There was always helping at the old age homes or helping at the food bank. I thought about calling the food bank and asking, but something kept stopping me. It didn't seem right working anywhere else but the animal shelter.

My cell phone began vibrating on my desk. I didn't even budge. I knew who it was Troy. He had been trying to call me for the past two weeks. I couldn't find it in myself to answer the phone. I was still angry and furious with him. He led me on to believe that he cared for me.

People say that when you open your heart, you'll find someone. I had myself believe that Troy was that someone I could be with for a long time. Maybe not get married or have a family, but possibly. Troy was someone I did care about. I liked almost everything about him. He seemed like the perfect guy for me, but in his eyes I wasn't the perfect girl for him. That right there is what broke my heart. Listening to how he actually felt about me. Not only that, but people were there and they watched me run inside like a little girl.

Troy now knew exactly how I felt about him. Everyone did.

I knew my feelings for Troy were now squashed. I wouldn't drool over him or think about him when it wasn't necessary, excluding now. From this day forward Troy Bolton will be nothing more than a friend to me, if that even. Troy is someone I will put in the past.

I heard my phone ring again. I took a deep breath then went to answer it.

"Gabriella?" A deep voice said.

Troy's Point of View

It was the fourth time I had tried calling Gabriella today. There was still no answer.

Whoever said lying doesn't get you anywhere in life, was right. I lied to Nick, Nicole, my mom, and even Gabriella. Stupid me said I didn't have feelings for Gabriella and that lie has put me in hell. I did, and still do, have feelings for Gabriella. It's something I can't seem to put aside. I still remember her fresh scent, her beautiful smile, her full lips, and her dark long hair. She choose me and I choose her, but I screwed it up. Every wall I had built up to protect Gabriella from my life was no longer standing.

My life was messed up. Today was my birthday. Two weeks ago I would have pictured me going to the shelter and just spending the day with Brie. Life doesn't turn out as planned. Instead my dad comes home after being away for a week, Gabriella hates me, and school starts in two weeks. Life couldn't get better. Oh wait, my sister is angry at me too. Violet use to always smile at me and draw pretty pictures. Now she doesn't even look at me and she stopped drawing. She told my mom it's because she liked Gabriella and I never told Brie that I liked her. Life can turn in the most dramatic ways.

My dad being home hasn't helped the most either. I tried just talking to him, but we ended up fighting. According to him I should have been focusing on basketball, not some girl. We fought then I went to my room and left the house.

Everything is just getting messed up.

...

My mom gave me back the keys to my truck for my birthday, as long as I am responsible. The only other thing I had to before my parents un-grounded me was help at the shelter for today and tomorrow. Of course, I said yes. There wasn't much of anything else to do during the day then think of Gabriella. Even though I did the same thing at the shelter, Gabriella might show up. What would happen if she went there looking for me and I wasn't there? It is unlikely, but you never know.

I was almost there when I felt my phone vibrate. I flipped it open and read the text message from James.

_Since you and the brunette are done, mind if I take her for a spin .. _

I clenched my phone in my hands and threw it on the passenger seat. James had still been messaging me and somehow he knew more about Gabriella then I seemed to. That only infuriated me more and James knew that. Finally, I pulled into the shelter's parking lot and turned off my truck. I grabbed my phone and keys then walked into the building. I went to open the door.

"Surprise!" A rush of voices said. The lights flicked on. I could see everyone who volunteered and worked at the shelter with a smile on their face. I was taken back with surprise and my mom rushed to my side.

"Happy birthday honey." She said, kissing my cheek. I smiled and hugged her.

"Thanks mom." I said.

Gabriella's Point of View

I sat on the toilet seat in the shelter. Troy had already arrived, I heard everyone screaming. I was almost hyperventilating. Should I go out and see Troy? I knew I would have to leave the washroom soon, but I wasn't sure if I was ready. I would have to encounter Troy for the first time in weeks. I was perfectly fine earlier when I called Lucille. I thought I was ready, but now I was having second thoughts.

...

It had been almost twenty minutes since Troy showed up. I still sat where I was in the washroom. Nicole had come in earlier and tried talking me into saying hello, but I declined and stayed put. What if I just went home? This was a bad idea and I never should have come. I nodded to myself. I took Troy's gift and opened the stall door. I could hear the faint music coming from the front foyer. I took several deep breaths until I opened the washroom door.

I looked both ways to make sure Troy wouldn't see me. When I didn't see him I rushed down the only hallways and stayed close to the wall. Everyone was dancing and laughing and talking. I couldn't help but smile to see everyone. Then, I spotted the door. I looked around once more for Troy then walked as fast as I could towards them.

"Gabriella!" I heard someone say. I froze where I was. Was that Troy? "Gabriella, there you are! Have you seen Troy?" Lucille said.

I turned and faced her. I shook my head, wanting to leave right now. Lucille's smile vanished and she looked around.

"Could you help us find him please?" She asked. "Can you check by the pond while I look around in here?"

I knew I really should just leave, but it was Lucille. She was so kind and innocent it was hard to say no to her. I nodded then went towards the back doors. I opened the doors and walked across the lawn. My stomach started stirring inside. Butterflies were raging and my heart was pounding. Something told me that Troy would be at the pond and I would have to talk to him.

What would I even say to him?

_"Hi, your mom is looking for you, bye!"_

That would go so well. He has been trying to call me for weeks. I was suspecting he wasn't going to try to talk to me? I'm such a stupid person, why did I even come here again?

Troy's Point of View

Me and Orion sat on the bench, watching the sun bounce off the crystal water.

Orion got on his legs and started barking behind us. I got to my feet, turning around. I didn't see anyone. Orion began tugging on his leash, barking at the trees. I heard a snap of wood and I lost the grip on Orion. He flung himself into the trees, barking at the top of his lungs. He disappeared. I stood where I was.

"Orion." I said. I heard him growling, then saw his tail come through the leaves. He was tugging on something. I heard a small huff. "Orion!" I called. He didn't stop. I ran up from behind him. He always listened to my commands. "Orion! Stop! Come on, boy!" I said, taking his leash and pulling it.

I pulled as hard as I could. He didn't let go of what he was pulling. I continued to tug on his leash then, finally, I fell back. Orion came to my side, dropping something on my stomach.

"Hey!" I heard a quiet voice say. I propped myself on my elbow. Orion licked my face then started growling at the figure that appeared from the trees. I looked on my chest and saw a bag. I got to my feet while Orion continued to growl at the frightened girl who stood still as a statue. Orion looked to me then barked. I held up my finger.

"Enough!" I said, looking back to Gabriella. Orion sat where he was, still growling at Brie. Her eyes never left Orion. She looked like she was about to faint. I slowly walked towards her. "Brie?" I said. I wasn't sure what to do, was she going into shock or something? "Brie?" I repeated. I walked towards her, stepping into her vision. Her head snapped up to meet my gaze.

"I'm sorry." She said, putting her hand to her head. "Your mom wanted to come find you, so I figured you'd be here, but then I saw .. _it _and then it started growling at me and I was going to just run .. then it bit my bag and wouldn't let go .. and I .. I .. " She looked into my eyes, they were horrified.

"Hey, hey." I said, trying to calm her. She spoke so fast I hardly even knew what she was saying. She looked back to Orion. I put my hands on either side of her face. It was like glass, so breakable. Her eyes lingered to mine. "Are you alright?" I asked her.

She just stared at me then nodded slightly. I could feel and see her cheeks getting warmer. Her lips slowly parted, creating a small 'o'. I smiled a little, feeling her face get hotter and hotter. I thought she was about to get heat stroke.

"Well," I said. "That's all that matters. Your alright." She nodded slowly, I took my hands from her cheeks seeing the red close around the white my hands had left. I heard Orion bark behind us and Gabriella jumped a foot away.

"I'm sorry." She said, backing away. "I'm a stupid person, I shouldn't have come, I have to go and .. "

She continued backing away, tripping on a tree root. I stepped towards her, extending my hand, but she caught her balance. She continued staring at Orion, still backing away. Then she let out a small gasp. I ran towards her, catching her in my arms. My arms were wrapped around her, almost as if I were embracing her in a hug. I helped to stand her straight, not releasing my grip on her. She stared into my eyes, cocking her head slowly to the side.

"Are you alright?" I asked. She smiled to me.

"I never realized you had a freckle." She said, touching my right cheekbone. Her touch was gentle, warm, embracing .. making it sting when her hand slowly run down my face and glide down to my chest. She smiled up at me, her brown eyes glistening from the sun.

Gabriella's Point of View

Everything, all my worries and my angry, just disappeared. I wanted to be angry with Troy. I wanted to stop feeling the way I did when he held me tight or when he stared into my eyes. I wanted a lot but in this moment everything I wanted didn't matter.

Troy and I just stood where we were. Me in his unbreakable hold. Our faces almost touching. Every feeling I was trying to put away of Troy, came gushing back at this moment. I didn't care what my gut was telling me at this moment. I just listened to my heart.

I had fallen.

And I fell hard.

Troy's shimmering eyes closed in on mine. His head slowly leaned forward. He stopped halfway, his eyes slowly closing. Without a moment of hesitation, I crushed my lips against his. Our lips melted together. It was the most natural feeling I had ever encountered. My hands flew to Troy's hair and tangled themselves in it. Troy's hands traveled up my back. One hand rested on the small of my back while the other went to my cheek. It seemed so perfect, then Troy slowly pulled away. His thumb traced circles on my cheek. He rested his forehead against mine.

"You don't know how long I've waited to do that." He whispered. I bit my bottom lip.

"That makes two of us." I said, closing my eyes.

Troy leaned back down and kissed me once again.

...

**Hey everyone! Finally, Troy and Gabriella kiss! I was so excited while writing this. I'm also very sorry for the chapters becoming shorter, I wrote mostly this whole chapter right now. Also, sorry for any spelling errors .. my spell check is working right. Thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing .. it means so much to me! The next few chapters might be a little shorter than usual .. im working on a new project. I've been working on it for a while now and I'm just about ready to post. So watch out for that and stay tuned!**


End file.
